Riddled In Truth
by Butterscreen
Summary: Accidentally pissing off a god-like being? Check. Falling into a world that is vastly more dangerous than my own? Check. Officially freaking out about the situation. Double-check. Trans-dimensional time-travel can teach you lessons the world couldn't. OC Self Insert.
1. Crash Landings and Talking Too Much

AN: Inspired by Silver Queen's _Dreaming of Sunshine_. I don't own the Narutoverse. I am officially crazy for making a self insert.

* * *

_Lesson Number 1: When in doubt, shut the hell up._

Chapter 1

If there was one thing that I had learned in life, it was that I was an anomaly. Not the kind like extra-terrestrial or trans-dimensional or any of that crap, but the mentally off kind. I wish that I could say that I was completely sane. Or that I was completely normal.

But no, my truthful gene holds me back, and finding myself in a different, allegedly fictitious world, threw the thought of sanity right out the window. Not sure if I minded.

I guess I could be considered an anomaly in the Narutoverse; appearing out of nowhere and knowing so many S-ranked secrets and all. I definitely didn't want to end up in another world when I dreamt about an ominously echoing voice that may or may not have been some omnipotent being.

Just my luck that I would end up actually _in_ the Narutoverse when I woke up. I am epically unlucky on a scale that would rival Tsunade. But maybe I should start at the beginning. It will begin to make sense from there. Probably.

* * *

I wasn't that old when I was transported into the Naruto world. I was sixteen, a nerd, a musician, an older sister, a recently turned junior, and an art lover. I was a gamer, one of the few female varieties, and was a fan of simplistic things. I liked darker colors, wearing long striped socks, loved hoodies and scarves, and absolutely hated the color called pink. I kept relatively good grades, had a knack for understated sarcasm, and a lazy demeanor.

I was committed to any group or club I joined, but didn't take on any extra jobs or leadership roles if I could help it. I always said that the effort wasn't worth it, but it was more like the stress would make me go gray early. I had a small group of really good friends at school that often teased me about being like Shikamaru; a lazy genius. I definitely didn't agree with the genius part, and I told them so. They said I was in denial; I didn't know whether to deny it further and prove them right or say nothing and _admit_ they were right, which they weren't.

My life wasn't complicated or busy. I went to school, I had a good family, I had a little brother, I read books a lot and learned the art of multitasking by running into several doors, poles, people, and walls while reading. I tend to do that on a regular basis, though. It's not like I don't walk straight either. I just end up misjudging my distance between a door and my arm or a bench and my leg, but I could definitely read and keep up a conversation at the same time.

Dedication to my super-nerd status has helped me achieve that.

As a super-nerd and a less-than-rabid fangirl of the Naruto franchise, I often dreamt of randomly entering the universe with no problems whatsoever. So when I came home after a music gig I did with some of my friends and crashed on the couch and dreamt of falling into Konoha from the fucking _sky_, I paid no particular attention to it.

Big mistake.

The first thing I saw in my dream was a bright white expanse of absolutely nothing. I was standing but not really standing somewhere in or on the white area and I probably should have started panicking when an ominous echoing voice spoke to me suddenly.

_"You must choose." _

'Eh? Choose what?' was my immediate thought.

_"Between fiction and reality."_

'Oh, shit this thing can read my thoughts!'

_"What is your choice?"_

"W-well, I like fiction more than reality." I said aloud thinking about nonfiction versus fiction. "But I prefer reality over fiction though I really don't like it all that much." The voice was quiet for a while.

_"What do you choose?"_ Whatever it was sounded slightly impatient. Maybe.

I sighed. "Real fiction or fake reality. Whatever floats your boat." I answered sarcastically. It was both specific enough to answer and vague enough to not answer the question. It also served me two purposes; it allowed me to gauge the Ominous Voice's intentions and stall the situation slightly. I don't know why I did that, but I did.

I don't think the Ominous Voice appreciated being messed with though.

_"So be it. Human. Your new reality awaits."_ 'Say WHAT now?' I thought panicking slightly. It was too late to question aloud as I was thrown into another room, er... expanse and three images appeared before me. A stylized 'A', a dragon-like thing, and a swirly spade symbol. I immediately was drawn to the swirly spade as I recognized it as the symbol of the Hidden Leaf village and I reached out to touch it.

Another bad idea.

As soon as I touched it I was spiraling downward towards the earth like a dead bird. When my brain caught up with what my body was telling me, I realized that I was really falling, _really fast._ My stomach jumped to my throat and I did the only thing that came to mind.

I screamed.

I flailed my arms and legs trying desperately for some semblance of control as panic ran through my bloodstream like an adrenaline rush. Soon though my fear overrode my mind as I began to see spots and I felt myself lose consciousness.

* * *

That was when I expected to wake up. I fully expected to scream and practically jump out of my bed and onto the floor to my chaotically organized room. I would then slap a hand onto my blaring alarm clock and begin the day.

Logical right?

Well, I did wake up screaming. The pain was horrible, like being run over by a truck, burned all over and then frozen like a popsicle all at once. I was cold but my skin burned and I felt bruised down to the bone. I didn't realize what had happened right then, but I knew something had changed about me.

When my mind finally decided to reconnect with my surroundings, and I finally stopped screaming, I found myself lying in a small garden with a Japanese style pond complete with the running water bamboo contraption. I also found myself _stark naked_ in the middle of a house that was clearly inhabited. My screaming brought attention to the residents of the house and soon I hear footsteps coming towards me.

Despite the aching pain in my body, I quickly and efficiently curled up on my side into a fetal position to save myself from total mortification and tried to collect my scattered thoughts. What had happened? Where was I? How did I get here? Was I in danger? What was I doing before I got here? Anything that could have helped me figure out what the _hell_ the situation was.

Fear gripped my entire body tightly and I began shaking violently, my mind going into shock as the door directly in front of me slammed open to reveal a dark haired woman and man. A third voice came from inside the house but the man yelled back at the boy to stay inside. My mind was at a blank, purely operating on instinct and torn between two choices; fight or flee. Meanwhile, the woman approached me slowly, like an injured animal. I might as well have been.

"Shikaku, get a towel or something for the poor thing, and be quick about it." she said over her shoulder without breaking eye contact with me. My eyes darted to the man as he backed away inside cautiously before disappearing out of my sight. The woman stopped about two feet away from me and crouched down closer to my eye level.

"It's okay. No need to worry." she said gently with a small smile on her face. "We want to help." She extended her hand out towards me very slowly and I watched her every move without blinking. Just before she reached me I closed my eyes tightly and waited. And waited. And waited.

When I dared open my eyes, she was still there, unmoving. She just stayed there until I looked her in the eyes again. They were soft and comforting and I instinctively began to trust her. When she placed her hand on my arm, I flinched but I didn't pull away from her. I stared at her right in the eyes as she gently pulled me to my feet and blocked my exposed features with her body.

The man, Shikaku, walked into my view and I immediately tried to hide behind the woman without taking my eyes off of him. He walked up to the two of us calmly and held out a knit blanket to me. I hesitantly reached out and then quickly snatched the cloth away from him and eagerly wrapped it around my cold body.

He smiled a kind, crooked smile at me and then spoke. "You'll be alright. Let's go inside and get you some tea." I nodded silently, still trying to process what had happened when it hit me. Instantly I froze and looked up to the sky. It was dark, with stars twinkling brightly in the black expanse. I remembered dreaming of the Ominous Voice, then touching the Leaf symbol, spiraling downward and then... nothing.

'Did I just...?' I thought to myself. The woman and Shikaku looked up towards the sky when I stopped and then glanced at each other before nudging me inside the house. It was practically ten degrees warmer in there than the ice-world outside. I then spotted a roughly ten-year old boy, presumably the one Shikaku had yelled at early to stay indoors, sitting on a couch. He looked up at me as soon as we walked in and stared slightly in shock. I tightened my hold on the blanket uncomfortably.

"It's rude to stare, boy." Shikaku said. "Do something useful and go and fetch Inoichi for your old man." The boy looked at Shikaku, then back at me, then back at Shikaku and nodded.

"Y-yeah. Okay." he said.

I was then ushered away by the woman to a bathroom and given a bar of soap.

"We'll get you some clothes by the time you're done, sweetie. My name is Nara Yoshino. What's your name?" She asked.

I didn't know what to answer. I was no expert on making up names on a whim so I just ended up mashing together a new one that might not have made much sense.

"A-Ameko" I ended up stuttering out. Since I knew little to no Japanese and I didn't want to stand out horribly, the first thing that had come to mind when making up my fake name was 'rice candy', which translated to _botan ame_. _Ame_ meant 'sweet' as well as 'rain' in some cases and I added _ko, _which meant 'child', on the end just to make the name seem more traditional. I just mashed the two together and hoped that I wouldn't seem too foreign to be thrown out. In any case, if Yoshino thought it was odd, she did nothing to show it. She just nodded sweetly and closed the door on her way out.

I ran the shower as warm as my body could stand in its popsicle state and my mind began to slow down enough for me to assess the situation clearly enough.

I began a step by step analysis of what had happened while mechanically washing up. I went to sleep on the couch. I dreamt of a white room and an echoing voice which I probably pissed off with my non-conclusive answers. I then was in a room with symbols. I touched the Leaf one. I was falling down, towards the ground. I woke up naked in a Japanese style house. Yoshino helped me into the house. Shikaku gave me a blanket. The boy, probably their son, ran out to get someone called Inoichi-

My thought process froze there as the names began registering in my mind. Yoshino. Shikaku. Inoichi. They were characters in the Naruto anime. And they were currently helping me out by getting me clothes and giving me shelter.

What. The. _Hell?_

I ran through the names I had heard again and again, but I just came closer and closer to the answer I feared. I blinked as I realized in horror. 'I'm in the _Naruto_ universe?!' I thought. I quickly finished washing and dried off thinking about how lucky I was to be in the _English_ speaking one, that is until I looked in the mirror. I probably could have jumped out of my skin at what I saw.

I wiped away the condensation and found myself gazing into the eyes of a stranger. She was barely ten, had _really_ short pin straight black hair, a pale complexion, freckles, and the widest, brightest green eyes I had ever seen. It took me a moment of disbelief to realize that the person in the mirror was me. I tentatively reached up to touch my face and she did the same thing that I did. I smiled to see my teeth and a full set of relatively straight adult teeth appeared in the mirror. I ran a hand through my hair and felt the sleek black strands slide way too easily through my fingers. I had been de-aged, shrunk, and forcibly transformed into a preteen that had absolutely no resemblance to me.

I might have screamed again, if Yoshino didn't decide to show herself with my new clothes a second later. I slipped on the undergarments, dull brown pants and black shirt mechanically as I recalled my former physique. I had lighter brown hair that had a slight wave to it. I had it cut short, in a modified pixie cut with layers. I was darker of skin, with a set of dark brown almost black eyes. I had no facial anomalies except for a scar on my cheek from when I fell out of a tree when I was eight.

I wasn't anything special. I had no outstanding figure or big bust. Just a glance, and no one would recognize my old self unless they spent a lot of time with me. I was one of the faceless in the crowd, and I liked that. I didn't like the attention.

Now though... my eyes alone would attract all sorts of attention with their vibrant color.

I walked out of the bathroom like a zombie; half aware of everything and half too shocked to attempt anything. I leaned my weight on the wall to my left, afraid that my legs would give out underneath me. There was a subtle weight in the air that seemed both warm and dangerous, comforting and hyper attentive, and so obviously foreign that I had to focus on my breathing just to keep myself from freaking out. It worked a little bit. But the effort and concentration it took ultimately wasn't good for my traumatized body.

"Yoshino-san?" I called out weakly. She appeared in my view and I practically collapsed into her arms, completely exhausted both mentally and physically. I vaguely remember her calling out my name several times before promptly falling out of consciousness.

* * *

I honestly expected to wake up then too. I dreamt about the white room again and I remembered calling out to the Ominous Voice.

"Hey! What the fuck is going on here?! When am I going to wake up?!" I had fallen from the sky, had my physical makup rearranged, and woken up in a different world. I had had enough. This dream was way too damn real. Way too insane. Way too scary for me. I was determined to wake up and go about having my summer vacation enjoying how anime was _fiction_ and how falling from the sky into said fictitious world would never happen. Where I was content to know my rather bland but positively _safe_ life.

"Heeeeeeeyy!" I yelled out into the empty white. I waited a while but no answer came echoing back to me. I slumped down to my knees and began to cry. Call me weak, call me a baby, but I was scared out of my mind, in an unfamiliar place, and I wasn't waking up.

"I want to go home!" I sobbed. I received no answer.

"Please!" My voice echoed desperately into the expanse. I covered my face with my hands and tried to calm down so I could hear anything that could have been an answer back to me.

There was nothing but silence.

* * *

When I woke up again, I was surrounded by white walls and bright lights. The smell of antiseptic reached my nose and I figured out where I was. I was in the Hospital. One thing that I knew about hospitals were that they were utilitarian and way too _clean_ for my tastes. People didn't live in hospitals, no matter how many people came in and out of them or how long they stayed. That's how it worked. You come into the hospital half-or-so dead or alive and they turned you half-or-so dead and then left the building slightly more alive than you used to be. But no one lived in the hospital, it wasn't a place for the living.

I shifted slightly, trying to take in more of my surroundings and get my body moving. I tested each one of my limbs and joints for movement; neck, shoulders, wrists, elbows, fingers, spine, hips, knees, ankles, and toes. Satisfied, I pushed myself up onto my elbows and then sat up fully rubbing my eyes to clear away the bothersome blurriness.

"Ameko?!" I heard someone say from my left. My gaze darted up to the figure standing in the doorway. It was Yoshino. She was at my side in an instant with a medic right behind her. She cupped my face and examined me and then grabbed my shoulders and did the same. "Are you alright, child? Do you know who did this to you?" she asked.

"I... I don't know." I said truthfully.

I looked at the medic and he stared at me like I was the strangest thing.

"What happened?" I asked him. "Is there something wrong?"

"You're coherent?!" he practically squeaked. I sent him a puzzled look.

"What kind of question is that?" I asked. He said nothing but opted to begin an examination on me instead. His hand glowed green and I stared as I felt the cool and refreshing feel of the medic's chakra pouring into my body. It was calming, and I was tempted to close my eyes but the anxious look in both Yoshino's and the medic's eyes stopped me.

"I-incredible!" The medic stuttered out. "Completely utterly impossible but absolutely fascinating! She went from having absolutely no chakra system at all to having a completely normal system with no irregularities within 72 hours!" He whispered half to himself. Both Yoshino and I let out exclamations of disbelief. I think they were for different reasons though. "Chakra flow is normal. Reserves are low but recovering. A-and the system is completely undamaged."

My first thought came out of my mouth without any sort of filter.

"What the _fuck_?!" Yoshino sent me an incredulous glare like she wanted to smack me that I just barely ignored. The cogs in my brain began turning and I couldn't help but think of the dimensional possibilities that could have landed me in the Land of _Crazy_ full of assassins and demons and other things that probably could kill me by looking at me. Seals."Did you check me for seals of any kind while I was passed out?" I asked the medic intensely.

"W-well, I uh..."

"I need to know!" the medic looked at Yoshino and they shared a look before asking me seriously.

"Why?"

All the pent up fear and anger practically exploded from me at that.

"Why? WHY?! Because I freaking fell from the sky, woke up in a different world in a different body, and suddenly have a chakra system when I never had one in the first place!" I screamed at him. "I want to know what the _fuck_ happened to me, who did it and why the hell it was _me!_"

"You're not the only one." A third voice spoke from the doorway and all three of us looked up to see the Third Hokage in all his old person glory. "We did find a fading seal that housed the kanji for _transform_ and _transfer_ on your back. By the second day it had disappeared and today, you are found to have your missing chakra system when the medics were positively horrified that you had no such thing during your primary diagnosis."

Again I couldn't help myself.

"Holy _shit_." I cursed again. This time Yoshino did smack me upside the head. "Ow..." I stated without inflection as I sent her a glare then continued. "Well this situation is _pretty_ messed up if you ask me. I only know vaguely how I _got_ here. And even _that_ doesn't sound sane." I said as I rubbed the back of my sore head.

"After all this has happened I don't think anything is out of the question now." The old man said gently.

"You say that now." I growled darkly. "I haven't even told you the craziest thing yet." My voice held a slightly sarcastic bite to it that everyone but the medic seemed to pick up on.

"You'll just have to tell us, then." the Hokage said smiling at me. My mind immediately shot that down.

"I can't." I said.

"Can't or won't?" He shot back.

"Both." I answered. "Can't because the repercussions could create a nasty paradox that could ruin this dimension, its timeline, and those connected to it and won't because I'm not cruel enough to want that to happen."

The Hokage narrowed his eyes at me. "You speak of time-travel?" I shook my head.

"Nope. Trans-dimensional time-travel. Which, in my opinion, is exponentially worse than the first." I said, getting into a speaking rhythm as my anger focused into sarcastic, pessimistic logic. "But I can tell you this. The upcoming generation of ninja is going to be crucial in the events that may or may not come in the near future."

The old man considered what I had said and then said, "This is not something to be discussed here. When you are released from the hospital tomorrow, I'll have an Anbu escort you to further... negotiations." He then turned to leave.

I didn't like the sound of that. So I did something stupid and stuck my opened my mouth. "You can't force anything out of me through interrogation. Not through torture or through mind reading. I'd sooner die than damn anyone to a paradoxical oblivion. You can't do anything to me that would make me betray that information."

My last sentence got his attention as he exited.

"You would protect this world, even if it isn't yours?" He asked carefully.

"Even if it's the hardest road to take, I'll protect this reality with my life. There is only get one chance to live after all. There is no such thing as a do over after death and why would I take such a gift away from people who deserve the life they live?"

Everyone around me seemed stunned at what I said, but so was I. Where had _that_ come from? I knew that the Hokage was thinking about it very deeply.

"So you'll help?"

"I won't breathe a word about what I know, but I sure as hell will prepare what I can beforehand. It's the only thing I can do."

He was silent for a while. "So you swear to use your knowledge to help this village?"

Instead of answering straight I spoke like I had rehersed a line of a play or something. "'Damned if you do and damned if you don't. So let your 'yes' mean 'yes' and your 'no' mean 'no'. A promise is a promise without a doubt and friends are people I can't live without.'"

The Hokage left promptly after I finished and I couldn't help but wonder what I had just gotten myself into.

* * *

AN:I was wondering how long I could get a chapter to be when this thing just kind of grew on the paper... Like a bacteria culture. Please tell me if I have a Mary Sue! 'Cause then I can rip her to shreds and try again.


	2. Interrogations and Weirdness

Chapter 2:

Lesson 2: Tears are never shed for oneself, but for others. I will never cry about my death, for I have long accepted it, but I will cry for the people I will leave behind.

* * *

The dream that I had that night was horrible. Like watching in first person every single horrible thing that happened in the _Naruto _anime and more. Everything changed from a drawn in cartoon, to vivid reality. I actually saw when Pain _crushed _the village. I saw Jubi get resurrected. I swear I could smell the metallic tang of blood from the battlefield. I was terrified. And then there was an absolutely _ bloodcurdling scream..._

I regained consciousness suddenly and I felt myself shake underneath the thin covers of the hospital bed. Taking deep breaths I tried my best to calm down and prepare for the upcoming craze of a day in Konoha.

"I know you're awake. You can stop pretending." I heard a voice say to my right. "I brought you some food." He said when I opened my eyes and peeked out from underneath the covers.

The cat masked Anbu held out a tray to me and I gave him a look that clearly said, 'Are you shitting me? I am not eating something that could be poisoned or something.' He just laughed at my expression and placed the tray on the side table. I sighed in resignation and then sat up to eat.

Then I remembered just who had a cat mask like that in the anime. Yamato.

My mood darkened considerably.

I took the tray and set it in my lap. Then taking each of the dishes on the tray, I carefully examined the look of each of them. Rice, tempura, and miso soup were all fished through thoroughly. I then sniffed each one of them with just as much attention. I could tell that the Anbu was watching me carefully as I meticulously looked at my food.

Without turning my head I looked back to Cat Face and locked eyes with him through his mask. I then turned back to my rice and my chopsticks and dug around in my rice for what I was looking for. It was a small seed, not noticeable enough to be deemed anything but a garnish for the dish, but to a picky eater like me who could find something I didn't like in any dish, it was relatively easy to find. I looked at the Anbu again out of the corner of my eye then promptly ate it.

I swear I saw him twitch. 'Good' I thought bitterly.

I then went to the soup and the tempura and did the same thing; found the suspicious seed and then ate it. When I was done I turned to the masked man. "Happy?" I asked, sarcastically. The Anbu stiffened. "'Cause that's not even the a tenth of what I know." I said.

I then put the tray to the side and slid out of the bed, no longer hungry with the discovery I had found in my food. I couldn't trust anyone or anything in this world. I made my way to the door and closer to the interrogation I knew was coming. Cat Face appeared beside me and then before I knew what was happening, I falling into unconsciousness again.

* * *

I was in a dimly lit room when I came to, sitting at a table with a man with a black trench coat and two jagged facial scars. Ibiki Morino.

"Welcome to the Torture and Interrogation Corps." He said. "How are you feeling?" he said with false politeness.

This is one man that I knew I didn't want to purposefully piss off.

"Homesick" I answered. He grinned a nasty grin.

"Well you're not going home until I have all of my questions answered. Are we clear?"

I chuckled a bit at that and grimaced slightly at the metalic tang of blood that seemed to stain the air. "I appreciate the sentiment, but I am never going home." I told him. "It's impossible." I said. "I don't even know how I got here, but I do know that my trip was one way. I'm never going back." I said again.

"You should make the most of it then. Tell us what you know and let us take it off of your shoulders."

"It's not that easy. It's never that easy." I said back. "But 'what's worth the prize is always worth the fight'." Quotes were easy, coming to mind whenever I needed them, and implying truth that I couldn't exactly state frankly. Directness would make me lose this game.

Ibiki slammed his fist on the table between us. I jumped. "What do you know about the Leaf and where are you taking this information?"

"I-I..." I gulped. My thoughts scrambled together and I settled for. "Nine." He was silent for a while, then motioned me to continue. "Ten is the older number, but nine is more important. The tenth is who was the most dangerous in ancient times. The tenth one is the most immediate danger to the Leaf now. Both of them will attempt to destroy this village. Ten is enough for five teams of two. Now one less. Nine, is what they're after. All of them." I paused for effect. "Nine is a very special number."

"Nine is also perfect for three teams of three." He said.

So he was playing my game. Good. He can make whatever he thinks about what I say. I hope he writes it down somewhere and just deems me mad when he can't figure them out. "The son, his wife and a brother in arms. Three. The elder, the lost, and the apprentice. Three. The healer, the eye, and the fox. Three. The first lead, the second destroy, and the last are the keys to everything." I said.

"A goal, a reason, and a means. Three." He said.

"All are from this village. Yours and mine." I said back.

"What is your place in the three?" He asked. "What is your purpose here?"

"I am not of the three. I am the variable. The anomaly. I am the catalyst of an unknown equation." I felt my body tighten at the thought of being put in such a dangerous position within Tobi's plan. Interfering with something so much larger than I was and being as helpless as I was did not sit well in my mind.

"I wish I knew why I'm here. I don't want to be in a place that is much more dangerous than the life I led before. I like being safe. That's why I wanted to know if there were any seals on me. Normalcy I know for a fact brings less attention. It is much less dangerous to be no one than someone. I don't want to be a danger any more than I want to be in danger. "

"So you know nothing that could harm this village?" Straightforward? Am I no longer considered that much of a threat?

"I know plenty of things, but it doesn't matter as long as I stay in this village." His eyes narrowed instantly. "And I have no intention of leaving."

Suddenly, I was up against the back of my chair with a kunai knife a hairsbreadth from my throat. I swallowed instinctively. Adrenaline hit my system and my mind went into overdrive, searching for something that would placate the anger simmering under Ibiki's skin.

"Enough games, kid. Speak in sense and I will spare your life." the assassin above me growled.

"I want to help, because I have seen too much in the dreams!" I said panicking. "I don't care if I die! But I don't want to have anyone die if I could have prevented it!" The man dropped me back in the chair and I slumped dejectedly. "I don't want to see them dying over and over again..."

I had practically memorized each major character death because of how many times I watched the _Naruto_ anime and as the geek I am I cried every time. But this time these people were real. Living and breathing and so close that I could touch them. _I can still hear them __**screaming**_. I thought as I recalled my dream. I shook my head to clear my thoughts.

"I promise to help in any way that I can! I just can't tell you everything I know!" I practically pleaded. "...Don't kill me yet..." I whispered to him.

Suddenly the cat faced Anbu entered the interrogation room and yanked me out of my seat. I hissed in pain as his fingers dug sharply into my skin.

"The Hokage will see you now." I was abruptly knocked out again.

* * *

When I came to, I was blindfolded and remained in the handcuffs while being dragged along by another person. I decided to put forth the effort into walking and we traveled much quicker than before. We took so many turns that I know that I would have been hopelessly lost without the steely grip of the Anbu guiding me. I let out a frustrated sigh.

"What is it?" Cat Face's voice asked. Ah, so it was him. "Frustrated you don't know where you are?"

I let out another huff. "No, I'm frustrated because I have to put my complete and utter trust in you. Someone who I don't know and who could kill me before I even registered that you moved. I'm completely blind and am as helpless as a newborn puppy. Since I highly value safety, it is both frightening and frustrating to me."

The Anbu let out a chuckle. "It's good that you don't trust me. It will be easier for both of us this way."

"I never said I didn't trust you, only that I shouldn't." I practically spat back. "Above all I know how my mind works and I know that I have put my trust in you. Even if it is just a little bit. I had to."

I heard the steady taps of the Anbu's steps falter a bit. "Why did you have to?"

"You are guiding me though a place that is equally unknown to me, not letting me run into walls, wander off into danger, or have me fend for myself. It's hard not to."

The Anbu was silent for a while then said, "That's childish. Putting trust in strangers." He sounded almost wistful. Best give him the cold shoulder.

"As a civilian, a child no less, in a world of ninja," I said darkly, "I can do nothing but count the seconds until my death."

"Those are not the thoughts of a civilian. And no one counts the seconds, literally."

Did he forget that I was slightly insane, or at least not normal? Maybe. I'll show him.

"Three days, ten hours, forty eight minutes, and six seconds."

He got quiet again.

"You were off by ten minutes."

I let out a slightly spiteful laugh. "Is that your way of saying that I'm not the only one counting?" The smile slowly fell off my face though. "What are you counting for, Anbu-san?"

His steel grip on my wrist tightened, but he didn't say a word. I wonder what _he _of all people was counting for. I fell quiet too. Well, it wasn't my business anyway.

We were silent all the way until he stopped and I figured that we had arrived at the Hokage's office. I smelt something familiar in the air as we continued forward and I was able to pin down what it was only after sneezing and jerking rather violently into Cat Face's grip.

"Sorry." I said as I extracted myself from his arms. I put my sleeved hand over my nose. "The smoke just bothers me."

"Smoke?" He asked. "What smoke?"

"You mean you don't smell it?"

Another voice chuckled a little bit and I think I jumped three feet in the air at the sound of an unfamiliar voice. I quickly twisted in Cat Face's grip to hide behind him.

"I think she means the smell of the Sandaime's pipe. It is detectable from here." The new voice said.

"Inu-senpai is a friend of mine. There's no need to be startled." the Anbu said to me. "You have a sharp nose for smelling that all the way out here."

"How can you _not_ smell it? Can you not smell the antiseptic in the hospital? Or the blood in the Interrogation room?" I asked disbelieveing.

"Well then what do I smell like?" He asked skeptically.

"Like cardboard or freshly cut wood." I said.

"And Inu-senpai?" He asked me.

I thought for a bit as I tried to pin the smell to an object.

"I think it's... dog shampoo?" I asked tentatively. "It's weird." I only remembered that smell from when my brother decided to give my a bear hug after washing my dog. I shivered inwardly. He was _covered_ in fur.

They both were silent for a while.

"She had a good nose." the other man said. "Keep an eye on her, Neko. I'm going to go test some genin today. I had better not be late." He ended cheerfully.

"Senpai, you never pass them. And you were supposed to meet them four hours ago."

"Huh, so I was." I could hear the smile in his drawl and couldn't help snickering. I bet my left eyeball that the person in front of me was Kakashi.

"The're gonna be mad if you don't have an excuse." I said. "And they'll probably yell at you for being late."

"Eh, I'll just use the black cat one today." He said. "Later."

I barely heard him leave. That was one of the scary thing about ninjas. Most of the time you don't hear or see them until they're right in front of you. It would probably scare the shit out of me if I wasn't jumpy to begin with.

Cat Face pulled me along and I tripped over the first step.

"Oh, I forgot to mention that we were going up steps. Sorry about that." He said.

"Too late now." I complained back. We went up some steps and then turned right into what I thought was a hallway from the way my steps echoed. I was getting tired of walking.

"Are we there yet?" I asked.

"No." was the curt reply.

"Are you sure?" I said.

"Yes, I am the one who knows where they're going."

I sighed heavily. "I'm tired of walking."

"You can sit when we get there. And we're almost there."

"I know."

"The smell?"

"My grandfather used to smoke. I could always smell it." I explained.

"Used to?"

"Family's dead." I lied. Well, more like I would never see them again, but hey, details, details... Depressing fucking details.

"Sorry." Cat Face said.

"No need to be." I said back. "I'll get over it eventually."

We continued on in silence before we stopped again, in front of what I absolutely _knew_ was the Hokage's office. The smell of smoke was overwhelming.

"Hokage-sama. It's Neko." Cat Face said.

"Come in." Came the scratchy voice of the Hokage.

I heard the door open and I tried to bury my nose in Cat Face's arm sleeve. I wasn't able to though as he disappeared from my grip as soon as I was through the door. Bastard. I stuffed my nose into my shirt and tried to push up the blindfold so I could see. Instead, I was pulled back with a hand over my eyes into someone's arms. What the fu-

"Ah, you came just in time. Despite being four hours late." The Sandaime said with some hint of a lecture in his voice.

"Maa, I ran into this _cat_ earlier..." I was completely surprised to say the least. I couldn't believe my ears. Or rather I could but didn't want to.

"Ameko, this is Hatake Kakashi. He will be the one taking care of you while you stay in this village. Kakashi, this is Ameko. Be warned that she has a mouth on her. And apparently she has a keen nose."

"I see." He said.

"Well I don't!" I spoke for the first time in the conversation. "I don't see a thing!" I would have waved my arms in the air for emphasis if they weren't tied up. It's as if they forgot to untie me, even though I know that they did it on purpose. "Can I at least have my wrists untied so that I can flail properly?"

"I see what you mean, Hokage-sama." The bastards! I'm being ignored.

"Good." the old man said. "I'll have a sliding door installed between your apartment flats. Unless of course, you'll just let her use the spare room in yours Kakashi." Wait, I have to LIVE with him?

"I object!" I yelled out just to have Kakashi put his other hand on my mouth. "Mmfhmfhmmmfm!" was what came out after that.

"She can use the spare room until she graduates. Then you can knock down the wall." I have no say in this?

"Mmmfmmhmmfmmm!" I tried to say from underneath Kakashi's hand.

"Alright then. I'll leave her in your capable hands. Dismissed." Wait!

Before I could try to say something else, I felt myself being pulled through what I thought was an equivilent to a hurricane and then just as abruptly it stopped. In the second it took me to recover I realized that I was no longer blindfolded or bound at the wrists but my nose had stopped freaking out at the smell of the pipe.

Nor could I smell anything else for that matter.

I reached up to my face and felt a thin fabric with my fingertips before I realized it was attached to my face. It was a fabric mask. Eh?

"This isn't mine." I said. Then I turned and found that I was in a dressing room and there were clothes being flung at me from the other side of the stall. I akwardly caught them and then heard Kakashi on the other side of the door.

"Try them on and see how they fit!" He called. "You need to wear something other than that hospital gown."

"O-okay!" I called back. Looking at the clothes I tried my best to sort out what was supposed to go on first. Thank God I kept the underwear that I was wearing from the Nara's. It came out of a new package and I would have felt akward with Kakashi picking out something like that for me. I shivered inwardly again.

I put on the black undershorts first then put on the white pair over them. Then I put on the black leg warmers and black ninja shoes. They were oddly comfortable. Next I spotted a black three quarters sleeved mask shirt and put that on while setting the original mask off to the side. The last thing was a dark blue overshirt with shortsleeves and a grey hood. When I looked at myself in the mirror, I grudgingly admitted that Kakashi had fashion taste. I guess he didn't really use it much since he wore the Jounin uniform now. I came out of the dressing room and caught my first look at Kakashi in this world.

His hair _did_ naturally spike oddly and slant off to the side, and he _did_ wear his mask and have his hitai-ate slanted. My next thought was that ninja were _weird_.

I then asked, "What am I supposed to do with this now?" holding out the fabric mask I had on before I changed.

"Why, put it on over the one you have, of course." he eye smiled. He actually _eye smiled_. Seeing it in the cartoon and seeing it in real life were two vastly different things. I smiled underneath my own mask.

"Thanks for this, by the way. It really helps with the smells." I said. "I don't even know why I can _smell_ everything." I muttered afterwards. Then I frowned at the unusual feel of the mask on my face as I spoke. Or should I say mask_s_.

"You'll get used to it." He drawled as he pulled something out of his weapons pouch. He turned away so I couldn't see it and he walked towards the scarf section. I practically sprinted after him in attempt to pick one out that I liked. My scarf, my pick. End of statement.

I immediately gravitated towards the ones with a solid color and a soft feel. Then I weeded out the ones that were knit from the sleek fabric ones. Then I decided on a thin white scarf that could keep me warm on a cold day and still cool on a hot one.

"Can I have this one please?" I asked in my nicest voice. I adored scarves, and it was either I got this one scarf or I didn't wear one at all. I think he picked up on my appreciation for scarves, but I could tell that he didn't like it.

"It's white." He said simply. "It's kind of against colorscheme if you know what I mean." Bullshit!

"I know, but I really like this one!" I said sadly. Maybe I could already hear him saying no in my head.

"How about this one?" He asked, fingering a darker grey one. "It's still close enough in color for both."

"I don't want to look depressing." I pouted. "Please!" I begged and clutched the scarf.

"White gets dirty easiest." He pointed out.

"_Please?_" I asked again. I knelt down on the floor with my hands clasped over the white material.

He sighed at my antics, but relented. "Fine."

"Yay!" I celebrated. We paid and left.

* * *

When he grabbed my arm and I felt the whirlwind again, I figured out that he was using _shunshin_ to drag me around everywhere. It was dizzying and it felt like your skin was peeling off at the speed. I didn't like it at all.

"Do you really have to do that _every_ time we need to go somewhere?" I asked.

"Why, yes. Yes I do." He said. I huffed out a tired sigh again, but didn't argue with it. If I'd be _living_ with him, I'd have to get used to it. Or learn how to avoid him at all costs while traveling.

"Well, here we are." He announced as he took out his apartment keys and unlocked the door. "Home, sweet home."

The first room inside the apartment consisted of a couch, a table, a clock, and large wardrobe but was otherwise completely barren. He led me inside and gave me the tour. Kitchen was to the right of the first room, hallway to bathroom and both bedrooms to the left. He led me into the first door on the right.

"This will be your room until you graduate, then there will be a door installed between the kitchen and the main room of the apartment next door so I can keep an eye on you." He explained. Something he said caught my attention though.

"Graduate?"

"Hm? Did the Sandaime not tell you that you were going to the Acadamy to become a kunoichi?"

"No! He never told me anything like that! Why am I going to the Acadamy?" I asked worriedly. Becoming a ninja was dangerous. It was in the job description and I definately didn't want to do anything that remotely involved danger.

"Ah, so he didn't. This is your trial period."

I blinked. "Trial period? I'm being tested?"

"Mmhm. If the teachers or I myself find you a threat to Konoha in any way, we kill you. If not, you are obligated to help protect the village because of what you supposedly know about the future." His nonchalant way of saying it didn't help.

Shit, I knew the Hokage wouldn't be that nice. Now he's forcing me to choose between death and having Anbu-like dedication to Konoha. I took a deep breath, then exhaled.

I am indeed in deep shit.

* * *

AN: I hope you like it! Sorry again for the late update. Something came up and I couldn't. I hope this makes up for it.


	3. Tears and Kakashi

AN: This is only the third chapter and there are so many hits! I'm glad you guys like this!

* * *

Chapter 3:

_Lesson 3: Life is the hell you make it._

* * *

That night, I woke up at about three in the morning and just started crying. A wild mix of emotion spiraled through my head at dizzying speeds; relief, doubt, fear, anxiety, hope but most of all homesickness. I think that the fact that I was completely alone in this world finally hit me. And it hit me _hard_. I don't know how long I cried, but I sobbed and whimpered until I was exhausted and by then the sun was shining happily through my window.

I probably just laid there, wallowing in my misery, for thirty minutes more before convincing myself that I needed to get up and move on. I literally rolled out of my bed and let myself fall to the floor, then cursed at myself for stupidly hitting my head on the bedpost on the way down.

"Maa, you're supposed to get up out of bed not fall to the floor, Ameko." Kakashi called. "It's not good for you, y'know."

And then there was _Him_. The weirdo that I was stuck with until graduation.

"Really? I didn't know." I mumbled sarcastically. I walked groggily to the bathroom to take a shower and brush my teeth before trudging into the kitchen for breakfast. I looked up at the clock. It was half past eight.

"Ah, you're up. Good. I wanted to introduce you to my team." Kakashi said cheerily. Wait, he has a team already?

"What team?" I humored him.

"I am a ninken owner. So it would be odd if I was and didn't have a team." He did some complicated hand signs really quickly, probably so that I couldn't copy them or see what the sequence was, and pressed his palm to the table. There was a sudden zing in the air and eight adult dogs of varying sizes suddenly poofed onto the table. I leaned back in my chair heavily as the eight ninja hounds loomed over me.

They _reeked_ of dog shampoo. I instantly clapped my hands over my mask-less face to try and lessen the smell. It didn't help much and I think it offended them slightly.

"Well then..."

"If that's the way you'll react..."

"You didn't have to..."

I shook my head to explain. "It's not you. It's my overly sensitive nose. Your clean shampoo-y smell is just too strong for me and my nose is freaking out."

"Pakkun," Kakashi addressed the smallest dog.

"Yeah, boss?" the pug answered.

"It's time to teach the new pup how to play." He eye smiled. Suddenly I didn't want to be so close to the pack.

They seemed to sneer canine smiles at me in unison. I didn't like that. Not at all.

"H-hey! I'm sure we can do this some other way! No need to be like this!" I said nervously.

Their wolfish smiles just got wider. I hightailed it out of there, swinging around to my room, hastily putting a mask on and then escaping through my window. Unfortunately, I didn't think that far ahead because one, I didn't know how to get down from the fifth floor of an apartment building, and two, the pack had followed me out here.

I just knew that it was going to be a long morning.

* * *

I ran from those vicious creatures for two hours, and was thoroughly mauled and exhausted. I guess this would be the ninken equivalent to freshmen hazing. By the time eleven o'clock came around, I was cornered in an alleyway and too tired to even attempt an escape.

"Alright already." I said. "You win. I give up. What do I have to do to get you guys to stop chasing me?" I complained.

The dogs, not even winded, grinned again in unison, and it was just a little creepy that they could do that at the same time. The pug Pakkun jumped up and landed on my chest, pushing me to the ground and simultaneously tearing my mask off. I closed my eyes bracing myself for the worst as all the dogs closed in on me.

"Punishment is... a healthy slobbering by the Henohenomoheji Ninken!" Then they proceeded to lick me all over my face, hands, feet, and pretty much any bare flesh they could reach outside of my clothes. Considering they had torn my sleeves and pants' legs to ribbons, they could reach all the way up past my elbows and to my knees. And it tickled. A lot.

As exhausted as I was, I couldn't help but laugh and flail and scream as they ripped off my shoes and got to the soles of my feet. By the end I was bone tired and didn't have enough energy to even get up, not that I could with all of the dogs lying _on top of me_, but at least I could breathe.

"Pakkun," I managed. The pug looked up from his position on top of Bull who lay across my stomach. "Shouldn't you go back to Kakashi-san now? You've accomplished what you needed to do right? You should go back."

"If we go back you have to go back too, pup." The pug smiled. "It wouldn't do to leave you out here all alone now would it Ame-chan?"

"You'd have to drag me back. I'm too tired to move." I complained.

Pakkun considered for a second then said, "You heard the pup. Come on, Biscut, Shiba, Uuhei, Urushi, Guruko, Akino. Help the pup onto Bull's back." I was consequently flipped over onto my stomach and pulled onto the big bulldog's back who, despite being roughly the same size and weight as my ten year old self, easily carried my weight. I just laid there limply as the dogs ran back to the apartment as if they hadn't just been chasing me around like hunters after a rabbit. I didn't even have enough energy to complain about the smell or the loss of my nose protector.

When we got back to the apartment, Kakashi greeted me by shocking me with his finger to check if I was still alive. I yelped and swatted his hand away as I fell off of Bull and onto the floor.

"You better hit the shower again. You just got _licked_ by a group of dogs. You don't smell so good." Kakashi smiled at me.

"You're mean." I said to him as I trudged over to the bathroom. "What did I ever do to you?"

"Think of it as training so that you can actually survive at the Academy today." He called.

"I have to go to the Academy!?" I screamed back at him as I stopped myself from turning in to the bathroom. "When? Why?"

"Two hours and forty-five minutes ago and for your first day of school." He replied. "If you're lucky, you'll get there only three hours late." He eye smiled.

"I'm LATE!" I screamed as I hurried into the bathroom, completely forgetting about my previous tiredness. I swear I heard him chuckling. He did that on purpose. The next five minutes were a mad scramble to get ready. I dried and fixed my hair as quickly as I could, grabbed an apple from the fridge for breakfast, some money for lunch, and a mask for when I wasn't eating. Just before I rushed out of the door, I skidded to a halt, grabbed my white scarf and the map that Kakashi held out in his hand, and then on impulse I hugged him.

"Bye, Kakashi-san." I said.

With that, I ran out of the door, bit into my apple and unfurled the map. I nearly choked in relief when I saw that the Academy was only a ten minute walk from the apartment. Running, I could make it there in half the time. Slightly rested and nourished, I felt that the run wouldn't be as bad as the two hour chase.

I could still be there before the full three hours had passed.

* * *

I literally burst through the Academy doors out of breath and completely disoriented. Even with the map, I had to ask directions from random strangers _six_ times.

"Sorry I'm late." I said, irony heavy in my mind. "Someone played a prank on me and then I got lost on the way here."

The teacher sighed and then put his chalk down.

"Come to the front of the room please." He said. I did as he asked and tiredly dragged my feet to the front of the room. I looked around and saw that everyone was staring at me. That made me uncomfortable. "Class, this is Hatake Ameko." I stiffened at the surname. "She'll be joining this class during her stay here and I expect that you'll be courteous to our new member as she settles in. Please tell the class something about yourself Ameko-chan."

I turned to the class and frowned underneath my mask. I didn't have a good enough back story to be saying anything personal and the teacher would surely pick up on it. I would have grumbled if the teacher wasn't two feet away.

"Yo." I stated with a flick wave. I swear they anime style sweatdropped. "I'm Ameko. I like..." I thought about my answer. "I like it when people smile." I settled for, smiling with my eyes as best as I could. "That's all you're getting."

The teacher and the class looked at me strangely. I could tell they thought I was crazy. Well, at least I'll be left alone for now.

"O-kay. Any questions for Ameko-chan?"

A kid with messy blonde hair practically jumped out of his seat.

"Why are you wearing that weird mask?! And how come Sensei didn't punish you for being late?!" He yelled loudly. A couple of other students started to protest too. I rubbed my ears.

"Ask my-" I tried to think of a good description for Kakashi. "brother." I said simply. "It seems to be a tradition he wants me to keep too." I finished with a bit of sarcasm.

"Hey, that didn't answer my question!" He yelled again. Geez, did he have a volume control on him? The class was getting wilder.

"Naruto sit down!" the teacher yelled.

"But Iruka-sensei it's not fair!" He yelled out. "How come when I'm late I get detention and _she_ just-"

"Naruto!" Iruka wound up. Okay, time to diffuse this quick.

"When's detention Sensei?" I asked. The entire class fell silent. Now Iruka-sensei was looking at me like I was crazy.

"Wh-what?" He managed to stutter out.

"When. Is. Detention?" I asked with exaggerated spacing. "People serve detention for being late so when do I have to show up?"

Now everyone was staring at me like I was crazy again. "What?" I asked. "Something wrong?" I acted innocent. I know it must have been strange to have a kid _willing_ to go to detention, but I was a strange child that had Catholic Guilt bred into my personality. Even though I wasn't sure what I believed in now, my morals were skewed in self inflicting mental punishment for things I do wrong. I briefly wondered if life as a shinobi would beat those chivalrous notions out of me or if I was destined to keep them for the rest of my life.

Sensei composed himself again. "It's after school at four. Don't be late. You can take your seat next to Shino and Sasuke. Both of you raise your hands so Ameko-chan knows where to go."

"No promises." I said airily to the man as I trudged over to my new seat. I scooted over in the second row past Shino, who I identified by his shades, and slumped into my seat next to the grumpy looking Sasuke.

As soon as I had touched the seat I could feel the glares being directed at me. I looked around to see Sasuke's fangirls practically murdering me with their eyes. Shit, I wanted to be left alone, not have rabid fangirls chasing after me. I leaned over to my left and said quietly, "Psst! You're name's Shino right?" The boy next to me turned suddenly as if he wasn't expecting me to talk to him but nodded. "Do you mind switching places with me? I feel like I'm gonna get murdered in this seat!"

He pushed up his glasses slightly, as if in a nervous habit, and then said, "If it would have helped the situation any, I might have. However, the girls will hurt anyone who is sitting next to Sasuke-san and I am not willing to risk their wrath." I slumped dramatically.

"Alright, thanks anyway." I said as I turned away and tried to ignore the threat of imminent pain as Shino went back to playing with his bugs. I looked up to the board and saw that we were doing algebra work. I almost sighed aloud at the good fortune. I took algebra in freshman year and I could actually keep up with what the curriculum was in this world. I leaned forward and got comfortable resting on my arms.

I gazed at the board and looked for anything that was different or new but didn't find anything so I just used my finger to ghost write on my desk and figure out the problem. I was hoping I didn't get called on though. I would have gotten wringed for not having the work to show for it.

* * *

Lunch went relatively well, if I considered that I had to sneak off school grounds to go get food. I ended up going to the nearest food place and just quickly snagging a prepackaged umeboshi rice ball off of the shelf and hurriedly run back to school before anyone caught me. I also had to find a good hiding place to eat because everyone wanted to talk to me during lunch or something.

On the way to the bathroom though after lunch, I was jumped, by Sasuke's fangirls of course.

"Little bitch!" Rabid Fangirl said. "What are you doing to my Sasuke-kun?! Why are you sitting next to him, freak?"

"Hey, I'm not-" I tried.

"Don't give your excuses! We don't want them! You're gonna regret ever laying a hand on him!" Idiot Fangirl said.

"You guys can have him." I tried again. They stared at me like I was crazy. "Again with the stares. Okay, how about you guys go over and fight over that seat next to him then? I'll just end up taking the empty seat."

The effect was instantaneous. They all completely forgot about me and went running over to the classroom and fighting to get in first. I breathed a sigh of relief and made sure to wash my hands in the bathroom of the sticky rice from lunch before heading back.

While I made the trek back though, I felt the exertion of the day hit me like bricks. I nearly collapsed in the hallway, but was able to steady myself on the wall and recover slightly. I was exhausted, and it was only the beginning.

After lunch, was shuriken throwing and sparring.

I tried my best to hide my exhaustion while we were called up individually to throw at the targets, and put extra effort into appearing completely nonchalant and lazy to cover it up. I also discreetly paid attention to the throws and errors that my classmates had made so I could quickly put together the correct technique.

But then I was called up. Iruka-sensei handed me four shuriken and instructed me to hit the four targets all at once as best as I could. I felt everyone watching me as I threw them at the targets.

_THUNK! THUNK! THUNK! THUNK!_

I was actually able to hit the targets, each of them within the third ring of the four ringed targets too! I was mentally celebrating in my head when someone spoke up.

"That's it? I was expecting you to be better at this." I turned to see Sasuke in all his jerkishness looking at me disappointed. "What a loser."

I actually laughed aloud at that. I clamped a hand over my face to try to stop it from erupting as I clenched my stomach as if that would help. I coughed to recover and then just smiled.

He sneered at me. Geez, mean much? "I bet you don't even practice!" He said. "You're worse than Naruto."

"Sasuke!" Sensei reprimanded as I heard Naruto protest. "That's not something you should say to your teammate."

I couldn't help it.

"He is right though." I spoke up. "I don't practice."

"Ameko!" Sensei said disbelievingly. "You should be ashamed not- not smiling!"

"Well I don't practice, I didn't expect much. I've never done this before either." I said honestly. "I'm just happy that I actually hit the target on my first try." My grin widened underneath my mask and they all gave me the 'are you _crazy_?!' look again. It was getting old. "What?" I asked, seriously.

"How did you manage to do that if you didn't practice?" Sensei asked. "It takes at least ten hours of practice with shuriken before most students figure out how to even _hit_ the target by themselves."

I shrugged. "I was watching when people threw." I said. "And listening when you gave them advice. 'Don't be timid. Be sure of your throw.' 'Always keep your eyes on the target.' 'Follow through with your throws.'" I recited.

"So," a girl asked. "You didn't transfer from some other class?" I nodded. "You came from the civilian school?!"

"I guess that's right."I said. People started to mutter amongst themselves and as I walked back to my spot, Iruka-sensei spoke to me privately.

"See me after class." He said.

No one seemed to want to bother with me after that. I was glad, because I got paired up with Shikamaru for sparring. He seemed to recognize me somewhat but didn't put much effort into the spar. As weak as I was, I didn't know if I could hold up in an actual spar anyway.

* * *

By the end of the day, I was glad that I had to have detention. I just sat in the classroom, unfortunately still seated next to Sasuke, until detention started. Once it began, I could literally just rest as long as it seemed like I was paying attention. I even stayed later than that, because Iruka-sensei still needed to talk to me and was in a meeting until five thirty.

I took a mini power nap in my seat as I waited patiently for him to arrive. A familiar voice jolted me out of my sleep though.

"She hasn't moved from that spot since she came in. She's just been waiting for Iruka-sensei to show up." someone said quietly.

"I see. Thank you. Nezumi." I heard Kakashi say. "We should probably go in then, Iruka-sensei. We don't want to keep poor Ame-chan waiting any longer."

The door opened and I rubbed my eyes sleepily at them, as if I didn't even hear the conversation. I looked surprised at Kakashi.

"Iruka-sensei? What's Kakashi-niisan doing here?" I asked, testing the waters. Was the conversation serious, or just mandatory?

Kakashi held up his hand as if to stop me. "You can cut the Academy act now." He said. "We both just want to know if you're taking these classes seriously or not."

I looked at him surprised. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"You didn't pay attention during the lectures today and you joked about not having prior practice with shuriken before. Are you even trying?" Iruka asked seriously.

"I wasn't paying attention because I already learned the math concept you're teaching, and I wasn't joking about not ever throwing a shuriken before. The only practice at throwing objects like that I've ever had was stone skipping. I came from a civilian school." I objected.

"That's impossible." Kakashi said. "Civilians don't learn this level of math until business school."

I was getting slightly frustrated and heaved a sigh. "You assume that the place that I come from is exactly the same as what's customary here." Their surprise was visible.

"In the place where I'm from, there are three mandatory schools to go through and one optional one. From ages four to eleven is Primary school; six grades organizing children's education by age. From ages eleven to fourteen is Middle school; three grades with the same organization. From ages fourteen to nineteen is High school; four grades. After that the optional education would be college that serves any age as long as the classes are paid for. I had completed my second year in High school before arriving here and that math is old news to me."

They were both silent for a while. I was rather winded. That was a long speech for my tired state.

"So you were between sixteen and seventeen years of age, highly educated, but you've never thrown a shuriken before?"

"Yeah. People don't really use shuriken where I come from. We don't even have chakra. We use machines and scientific weapons of mass destruction to fight instead. The civilian population is really large and we spend our lives doing things that commit to society. People can take a self defense class but breeding children for the military isn't as well known in- where I come from."

Iruka-sensei seemed speechless of the thought of not having chakra.

Kakashi's eye narrowed. "What were you going to say?"

"In my world." I said. I looked around nervously trying to see if anyone was listening in on this conversation. "Didn't the Hokage tell you that I was from a different dimension? How I _fell from the sky_?"

They didn't answer.

"The information I know about _your_ world is dangerous. That's why I put on the crazy person act. That's why I make sure that people think that what I say is complete nonsense. I'm not a threat as _a_ _person_, as you can see. It's what's _inside_ me that could tear the world to pieces. And _I'm_ _not_ letting it out."

"So you won't tell us." Iruka-sensei said. It wasn't a question. "You can't just leave the executive decisions to the adults? Ameko, you're just a child!"

"However much I trust you, I can't." I said. "I wasn't even going to attend the Academy if I didn't have to. It was too dangerous. I don't even _know_ what the Hokage was _thinking_ when he put me here."

I slumped in my chair. "I just-" I paused. "I just want to go home." I whispered. "I don't even know how I got here! How am I supposed to get back?! I hate being here! I shouldn't even be alive!" I screamed. I was close to snapping.

"Then what are you doing here? Just go die and rid us of the problem." Kakashi said coldly. I wanted to think that he was just testing me, but for some reason, having someone I had put my trust in tell me to '_just go die_' was too much.

"If I died, I'd leave this entire world to perish, but if I live then I could change something." I began tearing up. "But I'm too scared to live and I'm too scared to die! I don't know what to do! All I'm doing is running away! Hiding from everything behind a smiling mask! What does the Hokage want with me?!"

I had finally cracked. I was too stressed, too tired, and too mentally vulnerable to think straight. All I could do was lash out blindly. I didn't know if it was for help or for the fact that I wasn't anything to them. I was just another pest to squash. Disposable. I didn't like any type of attention; be it popularity or hatred or otherwise but I'd rather be treated like nothing than like dirt.

I felt someone grab me from behind and try to restrain me. "Let me go! Don't touch me!" I said. "Why are you doing this? I'm nothing but trash to you! Let me go!"

I felt the pull of shunshin and suddenly I was in the apartment in my room. I pushed the arms away and scuttled over to the farthest corner of the room burying my face into my arms.

"Ameko-" Kakashi tried.

"Leave me alone! I hate you!" I yelled. "I want to be alone..." I faded.

Kakashi was quiet again for a while. Then I heard him sit on my bed. All the while, I cried and cried just like this morning. Tears flooding because the dam had broken. "I'm all alone." I sobbed quietly. And no one wanted me.

I don't know how long I stayed there, but I just kept going, thinking about how completely and utterly alone I was, until I ran completely dry; until I the little energy I had left to cry was gone.

Silence filled the room as my choking sobs stopped and I just sat there in the corner unmoving.

"Are you really that scared, Ameko?" Kakashi asked suddenly.

I peered up from arms and straight into his eyes. I felt completely empty now, having nothing left inside to try and fill the aching hole.

"I'm terrified." I answered honestly. I fell asleep sitting in that corner, not even bothering to move.

And I knew that even after everything had happened today, I would get up in the morning tomorrow. I would get up and move forward, even if I was just going to relive this nightmare every day.

* * *

AN: I hope I'm keeping Ameko realistic. Writing her character seems to just ask for this mental breakdown. I cried a bit as I wrote it. Please review!


	4. Normalcy and Preparations

AN: Happy 4th of July to any Americans celebrating out there today. Everyone else I hope this chapter makes your day better. I don't own Naruto.

* * *

Chapter 4

_Lesson 4: When you're not blood related to anyone, you become related to them. Weirdness and all._

* * *

It's been a few weeks since my little episode and, despite that, I was beginning to adjust to the everyday life in Konoha. Just like every morning I wake up surrounded by softness and with a small wet tongue running itself along my cheeks. Groggily I make a swipe at the creature licking my face, only to miss and have my momentum swing me over into a mass of fur that was next to me on the bed. The mass moved and my nose twitched.

I opened my eyes and gave an abrupt yelp as Bull stuck out his tongue, _slobbered_ half of my face, and unceremoniously rolled over, pushing me right off of the edge of the bed.

"Good morning, Ameko." Pakkun greeted as I groaned on the floor.

"Nyeeeehh..." I answered.

"What are you a cat?" Biscuit asked from my left.

I turned my head to him. "HHIIIIISSSSSSSSSS!"

"Now, now." I flipped over to see Kakashi in the doorway. "Don't antagonize each other. Ame-chan it's time to get up."

"Uuurgh." I groaned. "I tired. Let sleep."

Instead of answering, Kakashi opted to grab me by the ankle and drag me out of my room still dressed in my pajamas. He turned right and continued to drag me straight into the bathroom, where he picked me up off of the floor and plopped me, clothes and all, into the tub.

Again I gave a yelp of surprise as my skin met icy cold water. Kakashi was out of the door before I could heave the water at him. Bastard. I sighed to myself as I turned on the shower and stripped the now soaked clothes off of my body. '_It's never just a "good morning"' _I thought to myself.

I tumbled out of the shower a few minutes later and put on the clothes that lay on the counter as well as the fabric mask to cover my face. Still sleepy, thanks to my astounding resistance to temperature change, I ambled into the kitchen and slumped into my chair at the table gracelessly.

"Morning, Kakashi-nii." I managed through my yawn. He tossed me an apple from the fridge that I didn't even bother to try and catch. When it hit me in the head, I cursed quietly at him and picked it up off of the floor.

"Why do you call me that?" He asked out of the blue.

I slipped down my mask and bit into the apple. "'Cause I'm stuck with you and you're too young to be my father."

"Just because you're stuck with me." He stated sitting down with his breakfast.

That instantly caught my attention. Reiteration? "Yes." I said, slowly.

"Really? Not because I annoy you, take care of you and train you into the ground every night?"

I looked down at my half eaten breakfast in slight embarrassment. "Maybe." I mumbled. "I'll stop if you don't want me to call you that."

"It's better than _teme_."

"I didn't mean it!"

"You shouldn't say things like that then."

"But I-" I stopped myself abruptly and looked up at him. His face was the perfect picture of complete composure. "Stop teasing me!"

"Maa, you should just get used to it."

"That was mean! You knew that I didn't mean it!" I said trying to keep my smile off my face. "You could have hurt my feelings!" I whined childishly.

He chuckled at that and ruffled my hair as I puffed out my cheeks in a pout. I heard a canine chortle to my left and there was Pakkun, laughing at me too.

"Not you too!"

Kakashi got up from the table and handed me my bag that contained my bento lunch and ninja supplies. I stared at him wondering when he had eaten and he said, "You'll get better at it. You'd better get going now, imouto. Class starts at eight."

Knowing that I had slept in some, I looked at the clock. Six minutes till eleven. Shit. "I'm LATE! AGAIN!"

This was becoming a regular occurrence in my life.

* * *

"Sorry I'm late. My alarm didn't go off this morning." Not a lie, but I didn't set my alarm either. Sensei just waved his hand to dismiss me.

"Just go to your seat." He said tiredly.

I walked over to my seat as Sasuke's fangirls glared at me again and took out some paper for notes. We were in the middle of a history lesson and it was actually quite interesting. We were going over the origins of the village and which clans were originally part of the village.

"While the main clans were the Senju and the Uchiha, the Hyuuga, Akimichi, Nara, Yamanaka, Aburame, and Inuzuka clans were also part of the village upon its creation. Other clans, like the Sarutobi and the Hatake clans have diminished in size as time went on, but they still remain part of the village's noble clans." Iruka-sensei was saying. I stopped writing for a second. He said Hatake? Did that mean that Kakashi had some actual background behind his family tree?

"Does each clan have a specialty or a bloodline?" Someone asked. Convinient. Who was that?

"Well the clans that I mentioned first still have prominent specialties and or bloodlines but because of the watering down of bloodline genes, both the Sarutobi and the Hatake haven't shown a user of their bloodline in decades." Interesting. Note taken.

Eventually though I got bored enough in class to start making origami creatures and objects out of my note paper. I was playing with the crane I had made when I suddenly got a weird urge to put it in my hand and concentrate on it. A weird electrical energy traveled down my arm and into my left hand and suddenly the crane moved. I concentrated harder, and soon the crane was floating above my palm and spinning, as if it were on an invisible pedestal.

As fascinated by my newfound power as I was, I quickly realized that I was using my chakra as I felt the drain on my energy and stopped immediately. It wasn't a good idea to be playing with the stuff until I knew what I was doing, and the ability to do that (at least in my mind) was freakish. I was not going to do that again unless I was told to. I hadn't been able to do anything like that during chakra training with Kakashi before, so now it was like something had just clicked.

That didn't stop me from playing with the feel of my chakra while it was _inside_ my body still. When I first experienced it, well, it's almost impossible to describe the feeling to someone who doesn't have it. Like trying to explain color to the blind or sound to the deaf.

The feel of my chakra was like having an ice cold glass of lemonade on a hot day. The taste and feeling you get when the tart coldness hits your system, but at the same time it was warm and energized like raspberry pie that kept a bit of its sourness. It was thrilling like the feeling of adrenaline you get when you're on a rollercoaster yet so perfectly calm like the pitter patter of rain on a roof. Like the itch in your nose when you smell freshly cut grass and comparable to feel of just cleaned clothes on skin.

It was actually quite weird once I thought about it, but at the same time it felt comfortable under my skin. Like having one of those candle-lights that flickered like a flame but was still just a light bulb. I was soon snapped out of my thoughts as everyone in the room was getting up and lining up in the front of the room.

Shit, I missed what was happening.

I lined up behind a girl I identified as Hinata by the way she was slouched over and trying to make herself look small and I watched as Iruka-sensei wrote some signs on the board; dog seal, boar seal, and ram seal. In front of the class I saw a girl with pink hair and a red dress (definitely Sakura) form the signs and a poof of smoke later, turn into an exact replica of Iruka-sensei.

As this was my first experience with ninjutsu, I nearly choked on my spit._' What the fuck?'_ A poof of smoke erupted again and then the replica of Iruka-sensei was back to the jumping pink and red girl in the front of the class. _'What kind of trick was that?'_

"That's the Transformation Jutsu." A drawling voice said to my right. _'Crap, I must have said that aloud.'_ I turned to see the boy from Shikaku and Yoshino's house standing right behind me in the line. It took me a second to connect his face to a name from the anime or just from my class, but when I did, I nearly laughed at the comparison between the anime and the boy before me. His hair really _did_ look slightly comparable to a pineapple.

"You're Yoshino and Shikaku's son right? I never caught your name." I said politely.

"Shikamaru." He said. "You really did come from a civilian school didn't you."

I gave him a puzzled look. "Yeah, why?"

"I've only seen civilians react that way to such a simple ninja technique."

I flushed slightly at that. I guess I was more obvious that I thought. "So how exactly does it work?" I asked as the line moved up. "I've never done a ninjutsu before. I just got a good feel of my chakra a few days ago."

"It's a drag to explain something like that to the weird girl but I guess I could tell you." He complained rather than said. I couldn't help but be slightly offended by the unintended insult, but I let it slide since he was helping me. "You concentrate on who or what you want to transform into and then you use the hand seals to help you mould and shape your chakra. When you release it, a puff of chakra smoke should appear and then your appearance should change into what you wanted. It will only work if you keep concentration though."

"Alright, thanks for the tip." I thanked him. "What do we have to transform into?"

"Most people just choose to turn into Iruka-sensei since we've seen him the most, but really this is just a test to see if you can do the jutsu. You can transform into anyone you want to."

I thought about it. Well, I guess I could try and just hope for the best. Pretty soon, I was next and I looked at the board; dog, boar, ram.

I concentrated my chakra and the image of Iruka-sensei, did the hand signs, and I pushed my chakra to the outside of my body, where it clung to me like glue. I looked at my hands and body and found myself in the chunin vest and everything. This was cool. I looked up and saw Iruka-sensei smiling down at me.

Wait, smiling down...

"Maa, I'm still short." I complained.

"It's still very good for a first try. You have very good chakra control." He said. "Next time, project your chakra upwards as well as around you. That way you can still fake the look."

"Eh? So the chakra upwards would just be an image?" He nodded. "Lame. How can I see if my eyes are in your stomach?" I asked as the transformation dropped.

"You'll still be able to see, Ameko-chan. This technique actually turns you into whoever or whatever you choose without harming the body. It may feel funny for a while, but you'll get used to it. Just remember to keep your concentration up."

"Alright. Whatever you say." I said skepticallly. There had to be more to it than that, but I'd ask later.

I ate lunch up on the roof of the Academy, using my awesome preexisting ninja skills to scrabble up the building. I slipped down my mask and dug happily into my bento that consisted of teriyaki and fried tempura. No one would bother me here. I ate quickly though, not taking any chances, practicing the art of inhaling food quickly, and slipped my mask back up afterwards. I had to admit, the thing was growing on me. It used to look and feel kinda stupid, but now all it did was make me feel awesome.

I actually finished with extra time left at lunch so I jumped down from the roof, not straight from the top of course, and ran over to the sparring ring. There was Sasuke, crushing some idiot kid who wanted to impress his crush or something, but I completely ignored him and the scowl he sent me and wandered my way past them to the obstacle course.

My strength had never really been in fighting, but in fleeing and deception and trickery. So my first order of business to improve upon, was my agility. It was time to unleash my inner parkour master. I set the stopwatch behind me and then waited for the random start alarm.

BEEP!

I took off sprinting towards the first obstacle, the agility steps, and cleared them. Then I went around the bend of the track and onto the tires, then past them to the monkey bar like rings. I cleared those quickly enough and then came the climbing rope. Using what little arm strength I had left I pulled myself up to the wall climb. It took me five tries to get up and over the thing and then came the biggest problem I have ever faced since coming to the Narutoverse.

It was a thirty foot drop.

There were no ladders down. Nor any ropes or steps. The obstacles behind me were one way and the only way for me to get off, was down that drop. Sure there was padding on the bottom, probably enough to be comparable to the haystacks in Assassin's Creed, but this wasn't a game, and the only way down was to jump. I glanced at the timer, as the precious seconds ticked by, and then to the drop that I had _seen_ before starting the course and then went on the course anyway. Not my brightest choice there.

"Ameko!" I whirled around to see Iruka-sensei yelling at me from the ground. "What are you _doing_ up there?!"

"Training!" I yelled back. "But I'm stuck!"

"Don't worry! Sasuke's coming to get you!" Wait, what? I turned to see the Uchiha making it through the obstacle course like a pro and coming closer by the second. Shit.

"If he even _attempts _to touch me, I'll jump!" I screamed recklessly. "I'm doing this _**by myself**_!"

"Don't be reckless! You don't have the training for this!"

Sasuke reached me. "Don't do anything stupid and step away from the edge." He said.

I glared at him. Then I scooted backwards towards the edge. "I'm jumping whether you come at me or not, Uchiha." I challenged.

"I'm warning you, Hatake." He spat back. "You can't do this. Back away before you kill yourself."

"Like hell you can stop me!" I said as I stuffed my fear into my stomach. Fuck him and all those people who say I can't. I can do this. I looked over the edge for a brief second, then I bent my knees and jumped, _backwards_.

The brief sensation of falling that I got was both exhilarating and terrifying at the same time, but my mind reacted quickly as I instinctively flipped around to land on my feet. I felt my chakra rush to my legs as I did everything in my power, within those few seconds, to cushion my fall.

Just before I hit the padding, an unidentified flying object barreled into me and I missed the padding. Instead, I rolled to away painfully as the object tumbled after me.

"What do you think you're doing?" The UFO yelled. Eh? I looked up to see Naruto glaring at me. "It took me days to set up that trap! Don't ruin it!"

Well, so much for the heroic impression.

I sorely got up into a sitting position and then began rubbing my backside, who fortunately or unfortunately enough, absorbed most of the falling impact. Then Naruto seemed to have noticed that I was hurt somewhat.

"Hey, uh, you ok?"

"_**HATAKE AMEKO!**_" I flinched as Iruka-sensei came running up to us. "What did you think you were doing, jumping off like that?!"

"That was pretty stupid." I glanced to my right and saw Sasuke smirking at me. Bastard.

"Wait a second! How did you escape my trap if you jumped down?!" Naruto yelled.

"Escape Jutsu. It's simple really." Sasuke said back. Ugh, they were gonna make my head hurt.

"What do you have to say for yourself?!" Sensei yelled, hands on his hips, glaring at me.

Both Naruto and Sasuke froze at the sound of Iruka yelling again and looked at me as I rubbed my poor injured buttocks. I looked at them miserably and then summed up my situation with one word.

"Ouch." I said simply. I then got up and dragged my feet towards the classroom, leaving them in speechless silence.

I just turned into the classroom, inwardly cursing at my luck, and ignored them.

* * *

With class back in session, I sat gingerly on my sore behind as Iruka-sensei began an entire lesson on the proper way to land and jump from a high place to how to land safely without hurting oneself. I had to sit tied up in the front of the classroom as he _stressed_ the importance of thinking the jump through and how to break one's fall.

All the while, Sasuke seemed to enjoy my pain. Bitch. Watch out, 'cause one of these days, I'm gonna shave that duck ass off your head and then paint your room pink with glittery words. Then I'll give your address to your fangirls and steal all your tomatoes and replace them with sugary filled one way tickets to diabetes.

I would swear revenge, but I swore off revenge, so I swear... Trickery! Which is much more fun and a lot safer than revenge is, in my opinion.

Weirdness of mine aside, Iruka-sensei assured me that Kakashi would know about my recklessness and I would be punished. I told him that I probably wouldn't be punished. So he _dragged_ me home after class (up the stairs, across the dirt roads, _everything_), and dumped me at my lazy adopted brother's feet and explained the situation. I could hear the triumphant tone in his voice.

The only thing Kakashi said was...

"Maa, that _is_ a problem." Then he pulled me inside by the rope and then shut the door in Iruka's face. The instant the door shut I burst into laughter. I was literally rolling on the floor laughing my ass off. No lecture, no promises of a beating, and absolutely no punishment planned out. He just acknowledged that there was a problem and then did _absolutely nothing about it_.

"And I thought _I_ was the best at understatements." I smiled underneath my mask. "That was the best euphemism I've heard in a long time."

He looked at me. "Why _did_ you jump from the top of that course? Heading straight into danger isn't like you."

I pulled out the switchblade I had found in my pack earlier out of my compression socks and cut away the rope. Kakashi just pulled one part of the rope and it practically fell off of me. Well, that was easy.

"Falling is actually one of my bigger fears." I answered as I dusted myself off. "And the quickest and most efficient way to get rid of irrational fear is to bitch-slap it in the face."

Kakashi face palmed and then straightened. "Language, Ameko."

I pouted slightly, turning away and he placed his hands on my shoulders. I blinked in surprise as he turned me to face him again.

"Wha-?" He pulled my chin up to meet his eyes.

"Don't be reckless, okay? You worry me when you do stuff like that." He said seriously. I flushed and looked away, embarrassed.

"Okay." I mumbled. Then another thought hit me. "When did you say your next mission was?" I asked. He had stayed in the village to take care of me, as per Hokage's orders, but he was a Jounin. He was a valuable part of the village's income. He couldn't spend too much time just staying in the village.

He looked at me strangely.

"I didn't. I'm taking a week long B-rank in a few weeks." He admitted. "Why do you ask?"

"You'll be going away." I said shyly, suddenly aware of how childish I sounded. "I just wanted to know when."

"It won't take very long. Just seven days at most." He assured me. "For now though," He turned and eye smiled at me. "We'll begin evasion and tracking training with the pack after dinner."

I froze in horror for a second before trying to bolt out the door. A firm hand grabbed the back of my shirt and pulled me back. I knew that I wouldn't be left off the hook that easily. Pack training was always the most grueling.

The change was gradual but as the days rolled by I found myself making stranger and stranger excuses for being late. Instead of directly antagonizing people I would just piss them off by ignoring them. I became more relaxed and less jumpy while still honing my reaction speeds and peripheral awareness. I took up reading again, expertly dodging obstacles and conversations with greater ease. I began smiling more with my eyes than with my face.

Anything and everything that Kakashi held in his demeanor was slowly rubbing off on me. I didn't know whether it was just me becoming more used to being in this world or if it was the fact that I had little sibling syndrome, where I was emulating my 'older sibling' subconsciously.

It wasn't that obvious to me, but when I was called to the Hokage's office one day. The change made itself absolutely clear. But that wasn't the only thing.

"Morning, Hokage-sama." I greeted once I was through the door. The old man looked at me surprised as he turned away from the Anbu he was speaking to. I spared the Anbu a glance as I recognized his mask but focused most of my attention on the Hokage. "You wanted to speak with me?"

"Yes," He said, slowly. "How have you been? It's been a while since I spoke to you."

"Well," I started. "I think I'm adjusting well enough. Homework isn't bad. Training is progressing smoother. I'm still getting used to the rather random absences of Kakashi but that's not too bad." I rolled out. "Nothing unusual."

"How are _you_ feeling though? Is everything... alright?" He asked.

"I'm fine." I said. "Is that strange?" I asked.

"No," He paused. "But your attitude seems different than last time we met."

"Maa, I-" I stopped myself before I finished my thought. "I guess you're right." I said in realization. "Kakashi's been rubbing off on me."

"So you're coping well enough with the change from civilian life?" He asked. I nodded.

"Everything seems so much sharper and clearer now. I don't think my paranoia as a civilian could have held a candle to the anal habits of being a ninja. But I am wondering," I said. "What did you call me here for? I don't believe you called me just to have a conversation on my coping issues."

The old man's eyes widened before he burst out in surprised laughter. "You truly are becoming one of us." He said. "I was going to ask you if you had begun your plans for changing the future."

I very clearly gaped at him. Of course it would make sense that he would ask me now. I was almost fully adjusted to the life here, and now would be the perfect time to begin making my moves.

"N-not yet no. But it is a good time to start." I admitted. "I was wondering if I could get supplementary training in hiding and spying tactics before graduation. It would be a good time to begin preparing for what's coming up. I need to be proficient enough in it to observe people jounin level or higher without them noticing."

"Well I can do that for you if," He stressed. "You come to me regularly to discuss your preparations."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "I still won't tell you anything." I said firmly.

"Nor am I expecting you to." He replied as he leaned forward slightly. "But you need allies to help you put them together no?" I had considered that. I guess that I could begin that phase in my half-baked plan.

"How many people know about me knowing a future?" I asked gingerly.

"Just me, Anbu Neko here Morino Ibiki, and Kakashi."

I took a deep breath and put a knuckle to my chin as I contemplated who would be useful before canon-start. "Bring Nara Shikaku into our confidence as well as Yamanaka Inoichi, and Gekko Hayate."

"Done." He said. "Anything else?"

"Bring Jiraya back to the village for the Chunin Exams. And," I considered, then stated recklessly. "Get me in contact with Uchiha Itachi."

* * *

AN: Wow. Everything's beginning to come together as we come closer to the start of the series. I hope everyone enjoys this. Feedback is appreciated. The next chapter will be Graduation!


	5. Creative Constipation and Graduation

AN: I don't own Naruto. Sorry for the late update. This chapter was literally written five different ways. It is also unedited because I wouldn't have posted otherwise. I'm not sure if I hate it or not. It practically drove me insane. Wait... nevermind.

* * *

Chapter 5

_Lesson 5: Ninjas. Are. Crazy. Period._

* * *

When I had asked the Hokage to contact Itachi, I wasn't expecting him to call me back into his office a week later, actually have a solid contact with Itachi, just happily say _"Here you go."_ and then pull out a ratty messenger dog from underneath his desk as if he had been saving it for right then. But that is essentially what happened.

I know. I think the Hokage has secretly gone insane.

He just said, "Oh, I just remembered." Cue appearance of emaciated messenger dog. "Just give me a letter once a month or so and it will be coded and sent to him. I'm glad I kept him for a bit longer."

What. The. _Fuck._

I looked at the poor stick of a pooch and it gave me a look of insanity only matched by purple Minions. It looked like it was disease ridden or at least flea ridden but the crazy look it gave me was a bit too creepy for my tastes. I gave the Hokage an incredulous look.

"Okay, I understand that the use of a deranged and diseased looking dog would be useful as I don't think even _Orochimaru_ would want to touch it, but I'm kinda against the whole, experimenting on animals thing. Especially dogs."

The Hokage put the mutt in his lap and started petting it affectionately. "Oh, he's completely natural bred straight from the Inuzukas."

"Kakashi breeds mold in the fridge and it's completely natural too." I pointed out. I classified that as a science experiment. There was no way in hell I was buying that story.

"Gokiburi had rough childhood." The old man reasoned. "But he's the perfect messenger for you and Itachi to trade letters on."

I looked at the dog and then the Hokage and then back at the dog as I tried to comprehend how easily my plan was coming along.

Every single person I had talked to about the plan, including Inoichi and and Shikaku and their ridiculous mind reading abilities, was completely compliant and dealt swimmingly with my vague explanations and promises. They didn't even seem worried when all I told them was '_It all begins in stage two._' In fact, they seemed to just drink in every word I said.

But then I thought about everything that had happened up until now and my mind flashed back to my interrogation time with Ibiki.

Oh. _Oh._

"You solved the part of the riddles didn't you?" It was more of a statement then a question. Te Hokage looked at me surprised, but then seemed to brush it off. I guess Ibiki really was listening to my maniacal ramblings and actually did out in the effort to make any and all connections to what was going on in the world at this time. He must have told the Hokage when he had figured it out and the Hokage had probably notified the people that I had asked for that I had actually spouted nonsense that made _sense_. "Why do I get the feeling that you have been planning things behind my back?"

The Hokage chuckled and smiled at me. "Because I have." Oh, so now I knew why he was letting me do this. Manipulative bastard.

I felt my eye twitch at the utterly unapologetic tone that the Hokage had taken. Now I know why Kakashi has been giving me these weird looks lately. I took a deep breath and calmed the simmering panic underneath my skin. By the way the Hokage was speaking to me, I was both an invaluable asset, and a growing threat in his eyes. Everything was moving so fast...

"Do you have anything else you want to tell me involving my meddling with the timeline?" I asked sarcastically. He could tell that I was upset about be kept in the dark like this and he just smiled at me evilly.

"You'll know eventually." He said.

"Remember to tell me things, or you'll end up being eaten by a hungry spirit god." I said at him half seriously. "And also remember that even though I am not from this world, I still keep grudges."

"Is that a warning or a threat?" He asked me.

"I want to say yes, because it is vague and answers nothing, but it's just the cold hard truth." I stated. "Now if you excuse me, I will now go and tell nonsense to other people and express my bad mood with complete and utter vagueness."

"Your words are both mysterious, and potent. You reveal nothing and everything at the same time. It is... unsettling that someone as young as you are has such a talent for the spoken arts." He said thoughtfully as I was leaving. I shrugged.

"People have always valued my opinion." I said vaguely. He just dismissed me.

* * *

I spent the entire next _month_ panicking over the fact that everything I said or did, to myself or otherwise, was going to be analyzed for information. Kakashi watched me when he was home, Anbu were probably following me around during the time Kakashi couldn't, and the Hokage was watching me like a hawk to see if I would divulge any more information. Their damn ninja awesomeness made me almost completely withdraw from the world. It freaked quite a few people out.

Because for an entire month, I didn't say a single word. Not to Iruka-sensei, not to Kakashi, and most definitely not to myself. That's right, I was stuck in panicky silence for a month. Kakashi was worried enough to pull a stunt that fortunately broke my streak, though (which could have probably extended to the rest of the _year_), when he surprised me by slipping off his mask and doing an absolutely _adorable_ Pakkun impression.

I pondered the ridiculousness of it after consequently cooing and laughing my ass off.

... A grown man with a _mastery_ over the puppy dog face...

...

...

He _has_ to teach me that.

Moving on, I was definitely more cautious about my interactions with people after that, not at all wanting something I said fall to the wrong hands (because who says Tobi _isn't _listening?) and I chose who I spoke with carefully.

Shikamaru and Chouji became by best friends within that time as I was afraid to talk too much and sticking to them made me practically disappear from the watchful eyes of randomly suspicious chūnin and jōnin. They were probably the only people who were actually doing something that was helping me stay sane. Shikamaru didn't mind hanging out with me because I cloud gazed with him. Chouji was won over when I gave him a bag of chips I didn't want.

Bless their unintentionally kind souls.

The only long winded conversations that I had with anyone at that time was, surprisingly, Itachi.

Every month or so, I would receive a letter from Itachi and write back to him. The dog, who I have creatively nicknamed Roach, would amble up to me at the most random times, drop a slobbery letter at my feet (or in my lap), and then continue on his merry way. Most of my letters consisted of answers to his curious questions about me, the occasional report on Sasuke, and hypothetical questions of my own for the ironically pacifist missing nin.

Getting honest answers from him was refreshing as he didn't even try to hide his intentions, but I didn't even attempt to suggest anything remotely related to something in the future. Itachi was probably just as good as Danzou when it came to manipulation and pulling answers out of people, so I just stuck with random questionnaires that would _hopefully _make him more reasonable about any negotiations I would later have to make with him. I was glad for the anonymity of my fake name (Suzu) and the fact that he thought of me as just some kid the Hokage thought would make a good pen pal.

My entire next year was absolutely _crazy_. Anbu Neko (Aka. Yamato) had joined in with my training with Kakashi, and they were having a great time torturing me with their training methods. Hiding didn't do any good either since both of them were tracking ninja, and they chased me all around Konoha with water balloons filled with bright pink paint (shiver) after every session; even after that grueling elemental affinity training session. It didn't help that I had the lightning affinity and Kakashi was the village's current _master_ of lightning style or that he was a brother who never got tired of torturing his poor younger sister. His idea of zap tag was not fun since he was so much better at it and he had amazing dodge abilities.

Of course it would be his favorite time of the day.

It worked though, no matter how insane the training was. I mastered how to do the Academy basics as well as a few lightning ninjutsu and the replacement jutsu. I could _unintentionally_ sneak up on chūnin of all sorts, find anything and everything using my nose, and escape from practically anyone and anything I wanted to.

However, I wasn't happy. I was, irritable. And cranky. And sarcastic. And jittery. And spastic. And worst of all, I was emotionally intense.

I finally figured out what was bothering me when I was walking home from the Academy and I squealed at an art store and bought all the painting supplies and musical instruments I could afford.

Yup. I had creative constipation. Something that had in my world that I seemed to have carried with me to this one. It's a bad state of mind for a creative nutcase like me to be in.

That's because my 'creativity' always ends up barfing on the wrong things. In this particular time, I ended up making my room look like I had a paintball fight with the wall and I broke three glass cups when I tried to play tubular bells with them. I drew mini Akatsuki chibis marching on the bathroom ceiling and Tobi's epic lollipop mask on the kitchen cupboard and a picture of old and new Team Seven on the back of the apartment door as well as a bunch of other Naruto related things.

I was just looking for a new wall to paint on when Kakashi came through the door.

I froze.

Fuck.

He looked at the mess and then back at me and then to the haphazardly decorated walls. I saw him freeze when his eyes landed on the Kyuubi and Naruto chibis in the hallway. Suddenly I was grateful for the curtains on the windows.

"What. Are. You. Doing?" Kakashi demanded pointedly. I was still standing frozen in my tracks with my paint set and brush in hand. I probably had paint splotched all over my clothes as well.

"Well, I- um-" I stuttered. "Was being... spontaneous?" I supplied. I winced at the glare that Kakashi sent my way. "Okay! Okay! What did you want me to explain?"

"What do you mean 'what do I want you to explain?'?" He asked rhetorically. I stuck out a limb and answered.

"Which... one? Do you want me to explain?" I asked in a small voice.

He stared at me like I was crazy. Well, he was half right.

My mind went into overdrive trying to figure out a way to mend the situation without telling him everything. Well, I could tell him _some _of the truth and let him think it out on his own. I might regret this later, though.

"It's the timeline." I said. "Well, random parts of it." I added. He looked around the living room to the drying figures on the walls. "If... if it isn't something that looks familiar... it's something that will eventually happen... I think."

"I thought you said that you wouldn't reveal anything about the future." He stated in disbelief. "What the hell brought this on?"

I stared at him slightly, even though I knew that cussing was appropriate for the situation, because Kakashi _rarely_ cursed.

My mind snapped back to what I was doing before he came in.

"Creative constipation." I stated succinctly. "If I had known I had brought it with me from before, I would have taken measures to prevent it, but seeing as it's _bit_ too late for that..." I trailed off.

"Creative _what?" _He asked.

"The condition in which the subject spontaneously creates artistic works. The sufferer needs to vent out his or her creative tendencies to operate normally." I stated clinically as I tried to stall the inevitable. "Release can be through painting, drawing, writing, singing, dancing, or playing instruments. It is incurable but can be managed through periodic creation of art of some sort. If not managed properly..." I gestured to the paint splattered walls. "_This_ happens." It did _not_ help that it made me mentally unstable enough to make me susceptible to any and all influences, good or bad.

Good thing I had a well developed imagination and red crayons in the old world. I had no such possessions with me in this world though.

"You're serious." Kakashi stated a bit incredulous. I nodded and shuffled nervously, my creative high fading into shame and tightly controlled fear.

"I'd ask you to just ignore it and not tell the Hokage, but since you won't, could you just... help me get rid of it?" I asked desperately. "No one should be seeing this... if someone who is _against us_ sees this stuff, we might have even less time than before..."

On the inside I was cursing myself for being so stupid. I had long since figured out that if a paradox with the timeline was going to happen it would have happened already so the only thing that would change anything drastically would be direct interference on my part. As far as the timeline went, the same people were still in the Akatsuki, and the same people would be attempting to destroy it and or the world within the next few years. If one of _them_ found out about my information trove, things could go to hell _oh so much quicker_.

Kakashi was silent in thought for a moment before speaking again.

"You'll monitor your... condition? And you'll make sure that this information is kept absolutely _secret_ from now on?"

I nodded vigorously.

He sighed and I waited in baited breath.

"We'll need a lot of thinner, but I've always wanted to find an excuse to repaint this place."

I let out the breath I was holding. Sometimes I wasn't sure if I liked his understated humor or not.

* * *

By the end of the year, I felt the frustration and slight anxiety of upcoming Exams. All major projects and homework assignments needed to be completed and turned in. I groaned at my epic procrastination issues. Not only did I have homework from the Academy, but I also had to make sure that everyone in my little circle of 'future knowers' (_lame _name I know, but what the hell was I _supposed_ to call it?) was given homework for the preparations as well. Most of it was theoretical stuff and a bit of training assignments for Neko, Hayate, and Kakashi (though I don't know if he actually _did_ any of it). I had stayed up really late for the last _week_ before Exams to finish everything.

Playing student _and_ teacher was absolutely exhausting. And dealing with strictly the _male_ gender, all of who were at least a decade older than me, was particularly draining. I couldn't wait until Tsunade and Shizune appeared so I could have some conversations with women.

Speaking of the female species, I was also suffering from the childish condition of _infatuation_. That's right, I was so close to having a crush on someone that it was annoying. Of course I would be the one stuck between my dislike for the complications of crushes and wanting to absolutely _gush_ over him. It was like being stuck between a rabid dog and an enraged bull.

Just another problem in the life of Hatake Ameko.

Evidently, when I came in to the Academy on Exam Day, I didn't even bother with an excuse for being late coming out of four hours of sleep and a spar with Kakashi. I dragged my exhausted body to my seat and put my head down on the desk.

I can proudly say that I was dead asleep for three fourths of the written exam (which I _still_ managed to pass) and I passed back out after my practical exam. Since we had early dismissal that day, all I did was grab a headband, go home and slept.

I woke up the next day to Kakashi's finger prodding my ribs and the growl of a starved stomach.

I wasn't sure the 'Eep!' or the 'Grrrrwk.' of my stomach was louder.

"It's a big day today. You need to get up, Ame-chan." He poked me in the ribs again. I rolled over and rubbed my face in the pillow ignoring him. He poked me again.

"If you poke me in the ribs again, I swear I'll call you Kashi-niitan for the rest of the day." I threatened.

Silence.

I felt a poke on my cheek. Damn it.

"I'm up. I'm up." I said as I swatted away the hand and pulled myself out of my covers. "What time is it?" I asked with a yawn.

"You're stomach says its eating time. You should probably eat something." He said.

I frowned at him. That didn't answer my question. At. All.

"I heard." I deadpanned. He turned away and went to the kitchen as I gathered up my clothes for a shower.

I came into the kitchen to a surprise. At my seat there was a plate with three green tea ice cream mochi on it. It was my favorite dessert.

Not only that but Kakashi was sitting at the table eating his breakfast too, without his headband and his mask. He was eating like a normal person and he didn't even look up when I sat down, peeled off my own mask and began eating the mochi. A wave a warmth came over me as we both sat at the table eating. It was a familiar sensation, just eating in silence with someone else at the table with me. It reminded me of having dinner with my family.

"Happy Birthday." He said suddenly. I instantly paused mid-bite to stare at him. Was today really? I glanced at the calendar on the fridge and saw the date. October fifteenth. The anniversary of my sudden appearance in this world. I swallowed my bite.

"Two years, huh?" I asked, looking down at my food. I had been in his world for an entire two years and had survived. If someone had told me that two years ago, I would have told them they were crazy, but now...

I smiled to myself then quickly finished my breakfast and wiped the powdered sugar off my mouth. I put my dish away and grabbed my ninja gear. I turned and I hugged Kakashi for all it was worth.

"Thank you, Kakashi-niisan. For everything." I said. I leaned forward and planted a quick kiss on his cheek before rushing out the door. I had felt him stiffen at the blatant affection and it made me smile. I was glad that I had someone like him to call family, even in a world that wasn't my own.

* * *

When I got to the Academy it seemed like Iruka-sensei had just finished explaining that we were to be organized into three man teams under a jounin, because people were whispering among themselves about 'I want to be with_' and '_ better be on my team.' I shuffled into the back row next to Shikamaru and asked him if Sensei had assigned teams yet.

"Nah," he answered. "He just gave us the graduation speech and then explained how teams work. If I didn't know you would be late, I wouldn't be paying much attention to what he's saying at all, you know." He drawled. I giggled slightly, in an oddly happy mood. He looked at me like I might be carrying a bomb. "What?" He asked cautiously.

"Thanks for always telling me." I said smiling.

"What's with all the mushy stuff? Where'd the sarcasm go?" He asked.

I giggled again, noting the panicked look on his face. "I'm just, really happy." I said lamely. "I got to eat ice cream for breakfast!"

"You had _sugar_ and _this_ is what happens?" He asked worriedly.

"Well, it's just..." I started. "Today's my birthday. Nii-san let me have _dessert_ for breakfast!"

Shikamaru instantly relaxed, apparently no longer afraid that I was going to blow something up and sat back in his chair.

"You could have just told me that." He complained. "'Cause last time you were this giggly..."

The memory popped back in my head and my good mood shattered.

"Thanks for reminding me." I said sarcastically as I frowned. "You don't want to _know_ what kind of punishment I received for it."

"Team seven," I looked up to see Iruka-sensei calling out to the class with a clipboard. He had almost shouted that one. Like he was trying to get someone's attention.

"Uzumaki Naruto," Naruto looked up.

"Haruno Sakura," Naruto did a happy dance as Sakura slouched in sadness.

"Uchiha Sasuke," Sakura then did a exclamation of joy as Naruto slumped. Sasuke just ignored them as usual.

I snickered from behind them. That was one dynamically challenged group that I would never want to be-

"Hatake Ameko." My thoughts stopped. Wait, what?

"Uh, Sensei?" I asked. "What-"

"Why do I have to be on a team with _him_!?" Naruto interrupted me. Sakura hit him on the head. I sighed.

"What was your question, Ameko-chan?" Iruka-sensei asked.

"How come I'm on _this_ team? When there's already _three_ people?"

"Well-"

"I demand an exchange!" Naruto yelled at the top of his lungs, cutting Sensei off. I could practically see the vein popping in sensei's head.

"To create a balanced team, we placed the best student, Sasuke, with the worst student, _Naruto_." Sensei seethed. Then he completely changed attitude directions and spoke to me instead. "To answer your question Ameko, there is an odd number of students who graduated and so you were put with on a team where the jounin in charge was felt capable of handling four students."

Translation? The Hokage wanted me to be put on _this _team specifically for reasons disclosed to me. I clenched my fists slightly at that. What the hell was he planning? And why now?

Sensei announced the rest of the teams, but I wasn't listening anymore. Quickly, my mood went from bubbly to broody and I disappeared from the classroom as soon as we were dismissed for lunch.

I went up to the roof and opened up my lunch, but ended up just eating a few bites before losing my appetite to the thought of my new life as a ninja. I doubted the Hokage would let me just drop out of the program, and I had put a lot of effort into becoming a ninja, even if it was against my will.

I sighed and stuffed another bite into my mouth. There was nothing I could do at this point but go with it, and not being able to choose where I was going, was an uneasy thought.

When I got back to the classroom, Iruka-sensei told us that our jounin senseis would come pick us up from the classroom to begin further training and knowing who team seven's sensei was, I just pulled out my favorite manga book and began reading it. It was a wise choice since the four of us waited for _three hours_ before he sprung Naruto's trap and called us up to the roof.

As if living with him wasn't enough...

"Alright, why don't you introduce yourselves. One at a time." Kakashi said.

"Introduce ourselves?" Sakura asked stupidly. Yes, that is what he said. "Well, what are we supposed to say?"

"Things you like and things you hate." Kakashi shrugged nonchalantly. "Dreams for the future. Hobbies. Things like that."

"Why don't you tell us stuff first? I mean, before we talk, tell us about you so we can see how it's supposed to work?" Naruto asked. That, actually wasn't so useless. Nothing against Sakura, but what Naruto asked held more ninja potential. To know a bit about someone else before divulging any information yourself. Not to say that it wasn't useless too.

I hated to say it but Sasuke was being most ninja-like by keeping quiet.

"Me?" Kakashi asked, going along with it. "I'm Hatake Kakashi. Things I like and things I hate. Eh, I don't feel like telling you that."

Naruto and Sakura's surprise was visible. Their losing ninja points fast.

"My dreams for the future. Never really thought about it. As for my hobbies, I have lots of hobbies." Kakashi finished lazily.

"Well that was totally useless. All he really told us was his name." Sakura whispered. Something seemed to click in her head though.

"Wait a second! Hatake? You're related to Ameko?" She asked incredulous. Sasuke actually looked up from the floor at this. She looked at me surprised. "You know all about him don't you?" She snickered. "You could tell us all his dirty secrets!"

I blinked. Then I looked at Kakashi. Then I decided to mess with her a bit.

"I've never seen his face in my entire life." I lied, but Sakura didn't know that.

"That doesn't answer the question you know!" Naruto said.

"Even though it's probably true?" I asked.

I received three identical glares. I just shrugged them off.

"I can see how you're related." Sasuke scoffed. "Of course you know him."

"Never said I didn't." I shot back. He just hmphed and resumed brooding.

"Don't be rude to Sasuke-kun Ameko!" Sakura said.

At the same time Naruto said, "You are related!"

Ugh, this was going to be one _hell_ of a team.

* * *

AN: Sorry again this is so late! I had summer school homework and stuff. Updates will be on Saturdays from now on too. Hope you like this!


	6. Visions and The Bell Test

AN: it's late again. I am so sorry. I'm literally beating myself up about it.

* * *

_Lesson 6: The mind is the most dangerous weapon humans possess, because in the end, it is the mind that creates, destroys, and decides._

* * *

The weirdest thing happened to me during our introductions. At first I was just sitting there watching everything play out, and then the next thing I see is a hazy overlay on my vision that looks like someone put a transparent image over it.

In half a second, three images flash over the scene before me, and I suddenly fully understand the impact I have had on this world. I had changed the timeline irreparably without even trying. This was the first glimpse I had ever seen of what kind of power I had as someone with a powerful, probably fractured mind.

Future seer indeed.

* * *

"Okay. Your turn. You in the front right. You first." Kakashi tactfully switched the subject. The two idiots just went along with it, but I saw Sasuke's eyebrow twitch at it from my position on Naruto's upper left. Well, it looks like blatant trust and childish attitudes stuck around for half the team. Not to say that I was arrogantly an asshole like Sasuke, but I wasn't not childish either. I just hid it better.

"Believe it! I'm Naruto Uzumaki. I like instant ramen in a cup, and I really like the ramen Iruka-sensei got me at the Ichiraku Noodle Shop." He said. I was internally drooling. Food. I guess I ate too little for breakfast again. "But I hate the three minutes you have to wait after you pour the water in the ramen cup. My hobbies are eating different kinds of ramen and comparing them." Again my thoughts wandered. Miso. Spicy Miso. Shouyu. Miso with eggplant. Tofu. Calamari. Dango. Mochi. Ice cream. But Naruto's loud voice popped me out of my thought bubble again. "...To be the greatest Hokage! Then the whole village will have to stop disrespecting me and start treating me like I'm somebody. Somebody important!"

I felt my thoughts slam into a different direction. Way to sideswipe your own conversation Naruto. Kakashi said nothing, probably filing away those facts for later and categorizing Naruto by his attitude, mindset, and habits. Like the constant adjusting of his headband.

My thoughts are already working on the sideswiped tangent. First, I would feed them food. Then, I would begin bonding slash trust building time. Then, I would put them through training hell. If Kakashi didn't end up training them down to the bone, I sure would. And I wouldn't be so deceptively nice.

"Alright. Next." He said eyeing Sakura with a lazy gaze.

"I'm Sakura Haruno." Once I thought about it, her name really _does_ suit her. You know, the pink and everything. "What I like... I mean the person I like..." She gazed longingly at Sasuke. Alright, screw me being nice to her. I decided I was going to beat that fangirlism out of her as soon as possible. "Uh... my hobbies is uh... My dreams of the future is..." Cue fangirl squeal.

"And," Kakashi coaxed, probably just as tired of her fangirling as I was. "What do you hate?"

There is no hesitation here. "Naruto!" And then she goes back to staring and Naruto cries the fake yet dramatic tears of the rejected. I pat him on the shoulder in consolation. Poor teammates. Poor delusional teammates. I was beginning to think that Sasuke and I had the most in common. And that right there was a frightening thought.

"Okay then. You on the far right. Next." Kakashi said. I did a lazy mock salute and then rolled out my answers. All practiced of course.

"My name is Ameko Hatake. I do not like certain things. I do not hate other things. I do not have numerous hobbies. And I do not have a sane dream." I said. "Read between the lines, 'cause that's all you're gonna get." Same ending note I gave when I joined their class two years ago.

Sakura scowled at me. "Can't you answer a question like a normal person?"

I gave her a look. "What makes you think I'm a _normal_ person?"

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Naruto shouts.

"What do you think it means?" I say back. Naruto and Sakura give me glares.

"This is pointless." I hear Sasuke mumble under his breath.

"Alright, everyone. Last one. Go ahead." Kakashi interrupts. Great timing on his part.

"My name, is Sasuke Uchiha. I hate a lot of things, and I don't particularly like anything." Sasuke says. I can see Sakura deflate out of the corner of my eye. Mehe. "What I have is not a dream, because I will make it a reality. I'm going to restore my clan, and destroy a certain someone."

Right then is when I had the vision slash flashback slash memory echo.

I saw ten different faces. Mousy brown spikes with dark almond eyes and odd lines; honey golden locks on a heart shaped face; eerie yellow on paper white; spiky ash white and a cocky smirk; stylish brown and a snarky smile; calm earthy pools and a serious expression; sunny yellow and cheerful sky blue; jet black and a reckless grin; chocolate strands and violet makeup; unruly silver and apathetic eyes. Then everything bleeds back to green, blue, orange, and red.

I blink and surmised that less than a second had passed. A chill went up my spine as my mind was working on its implications. _'Shit. I might be schizophrenic.'_ I thought for a second.

I could still feel the frostiness in the air. After having that weird flash over my vision, I was tense too. Then I decided that it was time to break the ice.

"Aww. Don't worry, Sasuke." I said with false cheeriness. Everyone looked at me. "I hate you too." Absolutely one hundred percent true. The guy is a bastard.

Their reactions were varyingly hilarious. Naruto was laughing so hard he was having trouble breathing, Sakura was screaming bloody murder, Sasuke gave me the death glare that made his face look like a fish, and Kakashi just sat there smiling cat-like at the entire scene.

In short, my imagination made Naruto the Joker, Sakura the Red Queen, Sasuke Marlin the Clownfish, and Kakashi O'Malley the Alley Cat.

And who was I? I was Happy, obviously. Laughter, check. Murder, check. Fish, check. Other chaos making cat, check. Iciness gone, check. Sanity gone, check. All was good and I had successfully made myself forget about what I had just seen.

Then suddenly Kakashi was laughing his evil laugh. Not good. I instantly darted behind Naruto to try and hide myself.

He gave a slight yelp of surprise as I grabbed his shoulders and maneuvered him to block me. "What the hell?" He exclaimed. "What are you doing?!"

I looked at him with slightly crazed eyes and he squeaked in horror. "Kakashi. Evil laugh. Bad." I said in broken sentences.

"W-what's that s-supposed to mean?!"

"Laugh it up while you can, because tomorrow we'll be doing our first mission. But first there is a task that the five of us will do together." Kakashi continued. I gave him a look. _We? Is he hinting at what I think he is? _He chuckled again and I felt myself shrink behind Naruto's back.

"What's so funny sensei?" Sakura asked innocently. She's gonna get the surprise of a lifetime right now. But there's going to be plenty more when they pass this time around. Especially with me here. I almost feel bad for her. She's the only one with an non-tragic back story as well. Poor, innocent, vulnerable, Sakura.

"I'm going to tell you, but you're not going to like it." He chuckled again. Everyone sat on the edge of their seats. "Of the twenty-eight graduates that just came here, only ten will make the cut. In other words this is a make it or break it pass fail test where the chance you'll fail is at least sixty-six percent."

All of them made varying expressions of surprise and I glared at him.

"That's it?" I asked, a bit put off. "I thought that you were going to try and dye everyone's clothes pink or something atrocious like that." I narrowed my eyes at him. "What are you planning?"

Naruto sprang out of my grip and began screaming at Kakashi. "That's crazy! We worked hard to get here! What was all that training for then?!"

"Oh, that?" Kakashi asked completely unfazed. "Those were just to pick out who might become genin. Or not."

"What?!"

I looked at them.

"Don't tell me you didn't know?" They all stared at me blankly at that. I sighed and explained. "We take a written test to make sure we have the knowledge we need to be a ninja and we take a practical exam to make sure we have all the skills to be a ninja. After that," I pointed to Kakashi. "The Jounin sensei that each candidate is assigned to tests them with the final test. The field test. It's to see if the candidate can put it all together and actually stand a chance in the field."

I looked at each of them, looking for some sort of recognition in their eyes. Naruto and Sakura tilted their heads to the side in confusion while Sasuke just growled at me. I snorted.

"I guess it's your guys' fault that you didn't read between the lines on that, not mine." I said indifferently. Iruka-sensei certainly hinted at it several times during the year, saying that we needed to prepare for _anything_ after we graduated from the Academy, because we needed to be able to hold our own in the field _before_ we went on missions. I was absolutely positive that, even without my foreknowledge, I would have been able to figure out simply because phrase understanding and social maturity were above average.

I could even trace the line of thought I would have gone through to figure out the purpose of the test itself and not its broadcasted purpose.

I shivered when I thought about it. Had I a genius like intelligence or had not been trained in the arts of becoming unassuming, I probably would have attracted more attention then I did in this timeline. I was lucky enough to be able to snag only an average score on my tests due to my exhaustion rather than an outstanding one. Thank God for small favors.

"Well, that's it. You're dismissed." Kakashi said to everyone. "Oh, and one more thing. Don't eat breakfast tomorrow or you'll puke." Kakashi said apathetically.

"Ameko, a word please." He said pointedly at me. I froze and only one word ran through my mind.

Busted.

As Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto exited the roof, I ran through all the possible things that he could be upset at me with. When nothing came up, I panicked and vainly tried to sprint away from the _demon_ that was my brother. He caught me by the arm and put me in a headlock.

"Calm down. I'm not mad at you." He said to me as I flailed wildly in his grip. I wouldn't seriously try to escape, even though I could have, simply because I knew he wouldn't seriously hurt me. The worst injury I had gotten from him was a mild concussion, and even then, I was able to walk and speak coherently. Still, it was little comfort when the person I who was keeping me captive was _the Kakashi Hatake._ "I just want to ask you something."

"I probably didn't do it! If I did, I'm sorry! Whatever it is..." I trailed off. Poor defense before a certified genius.

He let me go and a stood facing him with a suspicious glare. He sighed. I braced myself.

"Do you know the purpose of the test? The real purpose?" He asked me. I blinked in surprise.

"Yeah. It's not exactly a secret." I told him. "I was sure that _someone_ must have noticed besides me."

Kakashi shook his head slightly. "Only you. The other Jounin discreetly inquired about inclinations towards teamwork and knowing about the test, but you are the only one that really picked up on it, as _discreetly_ as I inquired about it. I saw the look you gave me." I scrunched up my nose at that. I wasn't trying to hide it, but the way he phrased it sounded like I should have. Then it clicked.

"Because 'we' and 'together' implies teamwork, but the situation doesn't, logically unless I was specifically inclined to working with people, or knew about the real objective of the test, I wouldn't have responded to the phrasing the way I did." I nearly slapped myself at the simplicity of it. "I did know of it before hand though. And even if I didn't I think I would have figured it out anyway."

"I see." He said, taking note of what I said. "In that case, I'm not going to test you."

I choked on my tongue. "W-what?! Why not?"

"I don't see the point." He said simply. "And this gives me another tool for the test tomorrow."

I didn't like the way he said that. "What do you mean by that?"

He eye smiled and bent down to meet my eyes. "You get to be my hostage." He said gleefully.

I tried to gauge if he was serious or not. When his expression didn't budge, I turned away.

"No way in hell." Was my simple reply. But he wasn't done there.

"I'll buy you dango on the way back." He bribed.

I stared at him.

He stared back.

I gave him a suspicious look.

He smiled.

I let my shoulders drop.

"...Fine."

* * *

I woke up the next morning to find myself gagged, blindfolded, and tied up like a tree on Christmas. I panicked a bit, slightly fearful that whoever had kidnapped me was on Kage level because I hadn't woken up when they began tie me up, but then I remembered. I fell asleep like a rock the night before after eating the two sticks of dango Kakashi had bought me. I suspected a sleeping drug. Kakashi you bastard. Was it really that hard to ask?

I sniffed at the air and used my hearing to find out where I was. There was a slight breeze, and it was rather cold, but sure enough I could hear the clinking of silverware and smell the dog was still everywhere.

So I was still at the apartment.

I wormed my way towards what my nose was telling me was the kitchen. Groggy, I was sure that my stomach was empty and that I had made enough noise trying to get to the kitchen to wake the Kazekage.

I heard footsteps come toward me.

I flipped over towards them.

"Maa, you're awake. I was almost afraid I had given you an overdose."

I growled at him, and my stomach echoed me in protest.

"Sorry but you can't eat either. It's not fair to your misguided teammates." The was mirth laced in his voice. "But I'll save you the pain for now."

Eh?

The blindfold was then suddenly pulled up and I was staring straight into a frightening crimson eye with rotating symbols. I tried to fight the genjutsu but my eyes were closing and my world slowly faded.

* * *

Chakra induced sleep is almost as bad as a sleeping drug. The only difference was that I could probably escape from the genjutsu if I focused hard enough, but with the drug I couldn't. The after effects were the same though. When I woke up in the middle of an unfamiliar smelling and sounding place, I was still to weakened by the genjutsu to do anything but give a quiet moan as a headache formed.

Fortunately or unfortunately, that brought attention to me.

"Hatake?" A familiar voice asked after a bit. I just groaned in response, able to do little else as I was tied up to my eyes. "What the hell happened of you?"

I heard someone step towards me, heavily for who I thought it was, but then again, I didn't really pay attention to the way he walked at all.

Bright light entered my vision at the blindfold was ripped off my face and revealed a rather disheveled looking Uchiha. I would have screamed at him had I the ability to do so. I settled for glaring at him. I pulled at the rope helplessly as he looked at me funnily.

"You're awfully quiet." He observed. I rolled my eyes at him. Suddenly a presence caught my attention and I sniffed at the air. Sasuke's attention immediately focused on me. I heard the _zing _of shuriken and threw my weight towards the unmoving Uchiha. I was barely able to push him out of the way of the shuriken's path.

When I pushed myself up from my position beside him, I made eye contact and them flicked my head to the side. He looked at me with narrowed eyes. I was telling him to leave. I could still sense Kakashi's presence nearby.

Without a word he left.

When I was sure that he was gone, Kakashi dropped down from a tree and did a few quick hand seals.

In my weakened state, all I could do was submit to the genjutsu once again.

* * *

When I awoke next, I was staring into the brilliant blue eyes of my blonde teammate. "Hey, uh, Ameko-chan, you okay?" He asked. I blinked tiredly at him, then bobbed my head back and forth in a so-so motion. He had had enough sense to wake me up, but it didn't seem to cross his mind that untying me would be a good idea too. According to my stinging cheek, that is.

I sat up and looked around. I was in a small clearing with Naruto to my left and a big obsidian stone to my right. There were two bentos at the base of it. I heard a stomach growl next to me.

Apparently distracted but the divine smell of food, that in my still foggy state of mind didn't register completely, Naruto the orange blob snatched up one of the lunches and was just about to dig in.

I felt a burst of chakra and my eyes snapped to the top of the stone. There sat Kakashi in all his menacing glory.

Naruto was snatched up with a squeak before I could even register my brother moving, and a gray haze settled over my mind again in a numbing blur.

Damn it. That's the third time today.

* * *

Thankfully, I wasn't under the genjutsu for very long, and as soon as I woke up from it, I bolted upright and nearly head butted Sakura.

"You're awake!" Why did she sound so relieved? "You practically weren't breathing! I was afraid..." She trailed off. I shook my head vigorously to clear the vanishing traces of the genjutsu out of my system.

"I thought you were going to die, Ameko-chan!" I heard Naruto say to my left. I glanced up at him and saw that he was tied up to one of the three logs in my vision.

"...You were in a really bad way..." I heard someone mumble beside me. I turned to see Sasuke discreetly taking out a kunai and cutting through the rope as quietly as possible. When the ropes finally fell off me, I flexed my muscles gingerly as they were stiff from being in the same position for practically the entire day.

Once I got feeling back in my fingertips in untied the gag from behind my head and consequently pulled off my mask to spit the thing out. I choked as the piece of rough fabric slid painfully out of my throat and had a long coughing fit afterwards.

I heaved for air and finally able to calm my breathing down enough to speak.

"Why... The hell -_cough_- am I only being untied -_gasp_- now?" I managed to croak out.

None of them said a word but they stared at me with comically wide eyes. My brows furrowed.

"What?" I asked.

I looked at Sakura and she covered her mouth with a squeak. My gaze wandered to Naruto who just kept staring at me with his mouth wide open. I then turned to Sasuke, and he avoided my gaze.

Then Naruto broke out of his trance enough to speak.

"Ameko-chan is _cute_." He said almost breathlessly. Instantly I felt my face heat up, and I pulled up my mask hastily.

We sat there for practically ten minutes in the most awkward silence I have ever felt since I was in high school.

Then as if on cue, both my stomach and Naruto's stomach growled. I sniffed the air and located the two bentos from before and saw the open chopsticks and missing food. I looked to Sakura and Sasuke and saw bits of rice still clinging to their faces and it looked like they had eaten a bit before deciding to wake me up. My stomach growled again and I turned to Sakura sheepishly.

"Uh, mind sharing a bit please?" I asked politely. Sakura suddenly shook her head vigorously.

"We can't. Sensei said not to." She said matter-of-factly. I felt my features scrunch into a frown. I turned to Sasuke and Naruto. They looked away sadly.

I furrowed my brow, looking for a loophole.

"What was Sensei's exact phrasing?" I asked, feeling the title _sensei_ sliding off my tongue oddly.

Sakura looked at me funny. "'Don't feed Naruto or Ame-chan. Naruto broke the rules and should remain tied up and Ameko deserves it as payback for drawing in my books. If you feed them, you fail.'" She recited.

"So he said nothing about me getting untied, taking your food for myself, and feeding Naruto myself?" I asked them.

A smirk began to grow on Sasuke's face. "No. He didn't. He said we needed to work together to get the bells, but he didn't say anything about how we did it."

"Teamwork huh?" I asked as I contemplated it. "Whoever said teamwork had to follow the rules? We could definitely bend them a bit and break them in others." I grinned.

Sakura looked between the two of us and then resolutely offered it to Naruto.

With a quick glance, I stole Sasuke's bento and inhaled half of it. Then I watched as Sakura angrily fed an eager Naruto a bite of rice.

A blast of chakra laced wind burst into the clearing accompanied by a plume of chakra smoke.

"You!" Kakashi growled menacingly. Instantly I jumped in front of Naruto and pulled out a kunai. Sakura freaked out and turned as pale as a sheet while Sasuke tensed like a compressed spring as he broke out in cold sweat. "You broke the rules! Prepare for the consequences!"

I saw Kakashi weave hand signs for a familiar genjutsu and the sky turned dark and stormy. My clammy, shaking, weakened hands gripped my kunai tighter, not sure whether or not Kakashi would really attack. After all, I had interfered with the test enough for him to want to edit it a bit to fit the situation.

"What do you have to say for yourselves?" He snarled at us. All four of us gulped involuntarily.

"But, but..." Naruto started.

"Hmm?" Kakashi focused his attention on the orange clad boy.

"You said that we were a team! That's why... They..." He trailed off.

Sasuke glanced at us then continued. "We're all in this together. We're a team. We'll fight as a team and fail as one."

"Yeah!" Sakura put in. "The four of us are one."

"That's right! That's right!" Naruto screamed as he struggled against the rope.

Kakashi leaned over menacingly. "The four of you are one? That's all you have to say?"

I glared at him. "Do you need us to repeat that?" I asked, half going with it and half serious.

"In that case..." Kakashi whispered intently. They braced for the worst. "You pass!" Kakashi finished happily.

"Eh...?" I nearly collapsed in relief. It was finally over.

"You. Pass."

* * *

AN: I will focus on this more. I promise. P.S. This is unbetaed. Sorry for any errors I have missed.


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